By Durell Namasani
Former Secretary General Eisenhower Mkaka has been conspicuously left out of the newly unveiled Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Shadow Cabinet, a development that has ignited intense speculation among political observers and party followers alike.
The Shadow Cabinet, announced on Monday, features a comprehensive 45-member team with prominent figures such as Simplex Chithyola Banda as Leader of the Opposition, Nancy Tembo shadowing Foreign Affairs, Sam Kawale taking Agriculture, and Richard Chimwendo Banda as Shadow Minister for Local Government. Yet noticeably absent is Mkaka, the once-powerful Secretary General who served as both Foreign Affairs Minister and later Natural Resources Minister in the previous MCP administration.
Political insiders suggest the former SG may have declined a role in the Shadow Cabinet rather than being overlooked. However, this explanation has done little to quiet growing speculation about his standing within the party.
Mkaka’s political fortunes have dramatically shifted since he lost the Secretary General position at the party convention, with Richard Chimwendo Banda assuming the role. In September 2024, he was completely removed from the MCP National Executive Committee and reduced to an ordinary party member. His exclusion from the NEC was described as a major blow to a political career that once placed him among the party’s most influential figures.
Sources indicate that Mkaka and other sidelined senior leaders feel marginalized by President Lazarus Chakwera and the current party leadership. This internal rift has been brewing since his January 2023 dismissal from cabinet, with the Lilongwe Mpenu MP largely withdrawing from public political life.
Despite his reduced official status, Mkaka’s name continues to dominate conversations about MCP’s future, with analysts noting he remains a central figure in the party’s unfolding succession politics.
