By Emmanuel SobilikaFormer deputy General Secretary for the Blantyre Synod, Rev. Andrew Maere was ousted by the clergy and senior members of Malawi’s second largest Christian church, the Church for Central African Presbyterian (CCAP) for working very closely with former Malawi president Bakili Muluzi, Malawi Digest understands.
Following the loss in the lucrative job at the CCAP’s Blantyre Synod, Rev Maere has removed his dignity as a senior religious clerk and turning himself into a very ungrateful politician by not accepting his loss with humility.
In the elections that took place on Monday, August 24th in Blantyre during the CCAP’s by-annual assembly, Rev. Maere was beaten out to the deputy General Secretary’s position by Rev Austin Chimenya who got 117 votes against Maere’s 93 votes.
However, Maere has decided to take his loss to the outer side of the church by creating stories in order to tarnish the image of his fellow clergymen.
His noise, has opened a can of worms from fellow clergymen who have supplied the Malawi Digest with overwhelming evidence that during his 4 years that he served as the church’s deputy General Secretary, Maere was a Bakili Muluzi ‘Boy’ advancing the agenda of the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and its leadership.
Our sources say that Maere, was connected to the opposition UDF national chairman Bakili Muluzi by failed opposition MCP presidential running-mate and opposition UDF organising secretary, Brown James Mpinganjira.
Rev Maere comes from Launderdale in Mulanje and Mpinganjira comes from Chisitu in the same district. Their villages are within a distance of 15 kilometres apart hence the close bond between the two.
Information obtained by Malawi Digest indicates that Rev. Maere was elected into office in 2005 and became deputy to former General Secretary Rev. Daniel Gunya.
The two are reported to have been working very closely as they were both in good books with Brown Mpinganjira, the former leader of the now defunct National Democratic Alliance to which Rev Gunya was the presidential advisor.
To bring his ties to the two leaders of the CCAP even more closer for better political gains, Mpinganjira dumped his Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church and joined the CCAP after Rev Daniel Gunya baptised him.
Mpinganjira is still a CCAP faithful up until now although all his children have chosen to remain in the SDA and regularly attend church service at Kabula SDA in the commercial city Blantyre.
Our sources say that things became complicated towards 2007 when Rev Daniel Gunya’s term of office came to an end.
Although Maere was just into his second year in office and still holding the deputy General Secretary’s position, he decided to compete for the position of General Secretary against Rev Macdonald Kadawati who was then ministering in Balaka.
According to the laws governing the CCAP church, Blantyre Synod, as deputy General Secretary he was not allowed to seek a higher office of General Secretary as he was still serving his 4-year term of office.
The CCAP laws say that the General Secretary and the deputy General Secretary’s terms are 4 years each but the two positions do overlap depending on the years they were put into office.
As Maere was only in his second year of his 4-year term, he was not allowed by the CCAP laws to seek another higher office before resigning from his position.
Blantyre Synod CCAP’s lawyers Kainja and Associates advised Maere against breaking the laws governing the church but this did not please the clergy man.
To bring his ties to the two leaders of the CCAP even more closer for better political gains, Mpinganjira dumped his Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church and joined the CCAP after Rev Daniel Gunya baptised him.
Mpinganjira is still a CCAP faithful up until now although all his children have chosen to remain in the SDA and regularly attend church service at Kabula SDA in the commercial city Blantyre.
Our sources say that things became complicated towards 2007 when Rev Daniel Gunya’s term of office came to an end.
Although Maere was just into his second year in office and still holding the deputy General Secretary’s position, he decided to compete for the position of General Secretary against Rev Macdonald Kadawati who was then ministering in Balaka.
According to the laws governing the CCAP church, Blantyre Synod, as deputy General Secretary he was not allowed to seek a higher office of General Secretary as he was still serving his 4-year term of office.
The CCAP laws say that the General Secretary and the deputy General Secretary’s terms are 4 years each but the two positions do overlap depending on the years they were put into office.
As Maere was only in his second year of his 4-year term, he was not allowed by the CCAP laws to seek another higher office before resigning from his position.
Blantyre Synod CCAP’s lawyers Kainja and Associates advised Maere against breaking the laws governing the church but this did not please the clergy man.
It is reported there was a bitter ex-change of words between the lawyer and Maere and the feud resulted in the lawyer threatening to withdraw his legal representation to the church.
Maere was allowed to contest in the elections after putting up a notice not to return no matter the outcome of the elections.
As part of his campaign strategy for the General Secretary’s position, Rev Maere with help from former president Bakili Muluzi hired a coaster minibus and took several reverends to South Africa, Lesotho and Botswana.
The reverends who travelled by road through Mozambique and Zimbabwe, were welcomed in Johannesburg, South Africa by UDF organising secretary Brown Mpinganjira and NRP president Gwanda Chakuamba who were then both working together in the opposition UDF.
Courtesy of former president Muluzi, the team was treated to a dinner in Johannesburg where Mpinganjira and Chakuamba were guest of honours.
Some of the reverends that were part of this merry making campaign trip for Maere were Reverends Joseph Mdula, Innocent Chikopa, Ntuthe and Mulowa among many others.
Although he had a very big financial boost from Bakili Muluzi, on the election day Rev Andrew Maere got defeated by Rev. Macdonald Kadawati.
In the interest of unity for the church, Rev Kadawati persuaded Maere to stay on as deputy General Secretary although the latter had already put in a notice not to return after the polls.
Our sources say that when he was seeking election into the high office of General Secretary, Maere played very dirty campaign tactics that saw his rival’s supporters regarded as enemies.
Rev. Maere is reported to lack inter-personal relationships that are normally encouraged in a religious setting like that of the CCAP church.
For example, soon after the elections when Rev Kadawati was still in Balaka having not yet relocated to Blantyre, Rev Andrew Maere told Rev Maxwell Songola right in the face that he could not counter sign a church cheque meant for reverend Songola because he supported Kadawati during the polls.
Maere charged at Songola saying if he wanted, he should have the cheque counter signed in Balaka by Rev Kadawati.
On financial mismanagement, the church’s General Treasurer a Mr Chilembwe has on several occasions complained bitterly about Rev Maere’s over expenditures.
For example, often times Rev Maere would request for a full tank of fuel in his vehicle at 5 pm only to request for another, first thing the following morning.
Before the 2007 elections, Rev. Maere was left by Rev. Daniel Gunya to act as General Secretary whilst Gunya pursued his PhD studies at Rhodes University in South Africa.
During these six months, the Blantyre Synod is reported to have lost huge sums of money through Rev. Maere’s financial mismanagement according to an audit report in Malawi Digest’s possession.
In the latest elections where he lost his position to Rev. Chimenya, Rev. Andrew Maere is reported to have again got huge financial support from former president Muluzi.
On the eve of the elections on 23rd August, 2009, Maere is reported to have received a telephone call from Bakili Muluzi from the United Kingdom where the two talked at length for over half an hour.
Three reverends (names withheld) who were with Maere, listened in to the telephone conversation with Muluzi as he was put on speaker-phone by Maere for his colleagues to believe him.
During campaign for the position, Rev Andrew Maere is reported to have met UDF members Humphrey Mvula, Hophmally Makande and Brown Mpinganjira on several occasions for advice on the campaign.
Although that was the case, the Bakili Muluzi ‘Boy’ Rev Andrew Maere lost the elections and now awaits his deployment from the St Michaels and All Angels campus in Blantyre to another church mission-Malawi Digest.
Maere was allowed to contest in the elections after putting up a notice not to return no matter the outcome of the elections.
As part of his campaign strategy for the General Secretary’s position, Rev Maere with help from former president Bakili Muluzi hired a coaster minibus and took several reverends to South Africa, Lesotho and Botswana.
The reverends who travelled by road through Mozambique and Zimbabwe, were welcomed in Johannesburg, South Africa by UDF organising secretary Brown Mpinganjira and NRP president Gwanda Chakuamba who were then both working together in the opposition UDF.
Courtesy of former president Muluzi, the team was treated to a dinner in Johannesburg where Mpinganjira and Chakuamba were guest of honours.
Some of the reverends that were part of this merry making campaign trip for Maere were Reverends Joseph Mdula, Innocent Chikopa, Ntuthe and Mulowa among many others.
Although he had a very big financial boost from Bakili Muluzi, on the election day Rev Andrew Maere got defeated by Rev. Macdonald Kadawati.
In the interest of unity for the church, Rev Kadawati persuaded Maere to stay on as deputy General Secretary although the latter had already put in a notice not to return after the polls.
Our sources say that when he was seeking election into the high office of General Secretary, Maere played very dirty campaign tactics that saw his rival’s supporters regarded as enemies.
Rev. Maere is reported to lack inter-personal relationships that are normally encouraged in a religious setting like that of the CCAP church.
For example, soon after the elections when Rev Kadawati was still in Balaka having not yet relocated to Blantyre, Rev Andrew Maere told Rev Maxwell Songola right in the face that he could not counter sign a church cheque meant for reverend Songola because he supported Kadawati during the polls.
Maere charged at Songola saying if he wanted, he should have the cheque counter signed in Balaka by Rev Kadawati.
On financial mismanagement, the church’s General Treasurer a Mr Chilembwe has on several occasions complained bitterly about Rev Maere’s over expenditures.
For example, often times Rev Maere would request for a full tank of fuel in his vehicle at 5 pm only to request for another, first thing the following morning.
Before the 2007 elections, Rev. Maere was left by Rev. Daniel Gunya to act as General Secretary whilst Gunya pursued his PhD studies at Rhodes University in South Africa.
During these six months, the Blantyre Synod is reported to have lost huge sums of money through Rev. Maere’s financial mismanagement according to an audit report in Malawi Digest’s possession.
In the latest elections where he lost his position to Rev. Chimenya, Rev. Andrew Maere is reported to have again got huge financial support from former president Muluzi.
On the eve of the elections on 23rd August, 2009, Maere is reported to have received a telephone call from Bakili Muluzi from the United Kingdom where the two talked at length for over half an hour.
Three reverends (names withheld) who were with Maere, listened in to the telephone conversation with Muluzi as he was put on speaker-phone by Maere for his colleagues to believe him.
During campaign for the position, Rev Andrew Maere is reported to have met UDF members Humphrey Mvula, Hophmally Makande and Brown Mpinganjira on several occasions for advice on the campaign.
Although that was the case, the Bakili Muluzi ‘Boy’ Rev Andrew Maere lost the elections and now awaits his deployment from the St Michaels and All Angels campus in Blantyre to another church mission-Malawi Digest.
hhahah I love you guys you give us some information which is being swept under the carpet by Nyasa Times. I suspect becoz both Maere and Nyasa Times are Bakili Muluzi guys, thumbs up Malawi Digest!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the best investigative reports that I have ever seen in the Malawi media. Comprehensive and no one can dispute this.
ReplyDeleteKeep on the good job digest.
Akulu akulu china ndi china jelasi si umuna nkhwani saotchera. Digest imadziwa kufufuza. Who can beat them! Muluzi alira pyoo! chaka chino.
ReplyDeleteMalawi Digest, please let Rev Maere rest he is out of the position please! Mpaka ma details a matelephone akulankhula ndi Muluzi? Inu ndi anthu oti wakuba angasowe pobisala ndithu.
ReplyDeleteMukugwira ntchito yabwino.
This is a master piece, I hope Maere, BJ and Gwandanguluwe have read this. Why was then Maere claiming to be a saint on Nyasatimes? I believe this story more than that of Nyasa because this one has all the evidence.
ReplyDeleteCheers Malawi Digest....
Muchoseni ubusa Maere...Munthuyu moyo wake siuki bwino. Atsocheretsa anthu ambiri.
ReplyDeleteAbusa if this is true ndiye mwaonjeza.Instead of you preaching you were busy with politics, Mulungu amakanthatu anthu opanga zopusa.
ReplyDeletemay God help you and you come back to your calling.Kodi BT synod mwatani nanga timaona ngati ndi a Gunya okhatu?
ReplyDeleteGood piece but there is one correction. Gunya was pursuing an MA in Political Science NOT a PhD.
ReplyDeletePolitics in the churches is creating enermity, church can't we find a proper procedure, its not good to have enermies in the church, let the church be a sanctified place. Mind you who ever came up with this kind of elections, God is watching. Lets follow the bible rules, elections should go together with one's credibility and his good relationship with God otherwise when people are elected into those positions through campaigning they lose focus. May God help the church. Lets call upon Revival in the churches because people are busy enriching themselves instead of serving the Lord. JESUS is coming soon.
ReplyDelete