3 sins of Vitumbiko Mumba

It may sound harsh, but it must be said no matter how uncomfortable it is. But you will make peace with yourselves, nonetheless. 

Vitumbiko Mumba, Minister of Trade and Industry and now ex-NEC member of the ruling MCP, is like a blind man in a dark room, chasing a black cat which he will never catch. 

Yes, he's an unwelcome guest in MCP and one need not be a political scientist to decipher this. It's all black and white. 

First, Vitumbiko Mumba vied for the first-vice presidency of the party, but he lost to unpopular Catherine Gotani-Hara at the party's convention in August last year. 

Mumba was one of the "big spenders" during the campaign in the run up to the party's convention, dishing out money and other valuable gifts to delegates.

Even before contesting for the post, he was initially barred because he had not met some eligibility requirements, the committee of the convention composed of MCP NEC members, claimed. 

But the High Court in Lilongwe ruled that MCP NEC lacked merit to bar anyone from contesting on any position at the party's convention. 

Now if Mumba wasn't blind and chasing a black cat in a dark room, he should have been able to see all this. 

But he chose to keep on chasing the invisible cat, hoping he would miraculously pounce on it someday. 

Then came time for primary elections. The persecution ramped up and now he's fighting to contest on the party's ticket in Mzimba Central. 

In April, he "lost" in primary elections to a challenger under suspicious circumstances.

But things don't just go wrong, actually they start horribly wrong. Minister Mumba may have committed three deadly sins. 

The first sin is, he keeps his intentions known to everyone. That's dangerous in politics, because you give them a clue of what you are up to. 

Unfortunately, Mumba has always kept his political opponents in the know. For instance, he courts excess attention to himself in the party as well as in the cabinet. 

He's made himself seem larger than life and has always shone brighter than the people around him. But he's not been able to insulate himself from external attacks. 

No wonder, his opponents have always outmanoeuvred him each time he wants to make a strategic move. 

The second sin Mumba committed is, he knows less about who he's dealing with. Knowing the person you are dealing with is critical. 

People will always react differently to your ideas or presence. It's fatal to assume that they always will like you. You must be able to know who's your friend and who's your opponent. 

Above all, you must know the person you must not offend, because that individual will always plot your downfall if they wield power. 

It is evidently clear that Mumba picked a quarrel with a powerful individual in MCP and is hell bent on eliminating his political ambitions in the party. 

Credit to him that he's a goal-getter, but such credentials make his opponent uncomfortable. So, he must have kept his head low while making strategic moves. 

The third sin is, Mumba doesn't play dumb. Sometimes it is wise to look stupid while you aim for something grand. 

That trait seems less-existent in Minister Mumba. After that tumultuous convention and persecution, he should have retreated into the shadows to confuse his political enemies. 

However, he seemingly took on his opponent by publicly chastising each other. Going down that road was suicidal, because he doesn't have powers to influence change in the party. 

Mind you, MCP is a neocon, meaning it upholds hardcore conservative values and whosoever challenges authority in the party is ostracised. 

In 2009, Ishmael Chafukira fell out with then MCP leader John Tembo. Other senior party members like Gustav Kaliwo and Chris Daza also rebelled against the party's leadership. 

And recently, other MCP diehards fell out with the leadership. These are Richard Msowoya, Felix Jumbe, Alex Major, Juliana Lunguzi, Jessie Kabwira, among others. 

The original sin of these members was: they wanted to breathe a new lease of life into a party that drags its feet to reform. 

They left frustrated and some of them have moved on to join other parties. Mumba might throw in the towel. 

But it will be because of the three sins afore explained and a lack of learning from the party's history itself.