NAIROBI, Kenya – Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has congratulated Malawi’s President-elect Prof. Peter Mutharika on his return to power, framing the victory as a warning to authoritarian and corrupt leaders across Africa.
In a statement shared on X Thursday, Gachagua described Mutharika’s triumph in the September 16 election as a “continental statement” that the ballot remains the most powerful tool for removing punitive regimes.
“It is a declaration that Africa, the rising continent and home to 1.5 billion people, is no longer a playground for religious hypocrisy, conmanship, corruption, pathological lies, dictatorship, and self-serving regimes,” Gachagua said.
The former Kenyan deputy president added that Malawi’s poll should serve as a wake-up call for leaders clinging to power, warning that “their days are numbered.”
He invoked Africa’s history of strongmen to illustrate his point.
“From Idi Amin to Mobutu, from Bokassa to Mugabe, the era of oligarchy and strongmen has collapsed under the weight of people’s power on the ballot,” he said.
Congratulations, President-elect Prof. Peter Mutharika and the great and resilient people of Malawi, on their historic democratic victory. On your election as the 7th President of the Republic of Malawi, your win is a great victory, too consequential in the history of future
Turning his remarks to Kenya, Gachagua urged citizens to safeguard democracy ahead of the 2027 General Election, saying the Malawian example showed that ill leadership can be defeated through the will of the people.
“Malawi has reminded us that African citizens are awake. They see. They feel. They think. They act. The will of the people is supreme,” he said.
Mutharika, 85, secured victory after defeating incumbent Lazarus Chakwera, who conceded on September 24 just hours before Malawi’s electoral commission announced the official results.
Chakwera’s tenure had been marred by soaring inflation, which hit 33 per cent, alongside rising food and fertiliser costs in the largely rural and agriculture-dependent country.
Critics also faulted him for failing to deliver on promises of job creation and tackling corruption.
Mutharika, who previously served as president from 2014 to 2020, campaigned on his record of infrastructure improvements and reducing inflation, though his past administration faced accusations of cronyism — claims he denied.
