I am not Jesus – AU boss declares

  1. Posted on Thursday 16 December 2010 - 15:41
    Mtheto Lungu
    Image of Mtheto Lungu
    Mtheto Lungu, AfricaNews reporter in Lilongwe, Malawi
    Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika on Wednesday warned his critics he is not Jesus Christ and will take action if they continue to be critical of his government. Many people accuse him of not exercising patience when making important decisions.
    bingu mutharika
    “It was Jesus, the son of God who said turn the other cheek. Do you want me to be Jesus? That was Jesus, the son of God, I am Bingu,” he said. “You slap me here, I will hit you. That is the way life is.”

    He added he will not give the other cheek to be slapped like Jesus.

    “No, not me, I am the son of man. You play with me, expect the consequences,” Mutharika, the current African Union chairman said, accusing religious groups and churches, and the civil society organizations for not helping him to develop the nation and for also lacking patience themselves in their respective organizations.

    “You are telling me to exercise patience yet you do not do that in your churches and organizations. Have you not expelled each other without mercy?” said the President.

    “Mercy and patience were not made for Bingu alone,” stressed Mutharika. He then gave a Biblical reference where Satan is believed to have been so close to God but wanted to take over and found himself in hell.

    “Even God did not allow Lucifer to behave as God. There is always one leader at a time,” he said.

    Mutharika told a gathering at a national tree planting launch his critics were wrong to blame him on the expulsion of the Vice President Joyce Banda from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

    “The problem with Joyce Banda is that she was forming parallel structures in the party and government,” he added, adding there was a party for Banda and there was a party for Bingu wa Mutharika.

    “Where on earth can you run a country like that?”

    Banda, the country’s first woman vice-president and former minister Khumbo Kachali were fired from Mutharika’s party after a row over who will succeed the head of state.

    The Malawi leader picked Banda, a popular grassroots campaigner, as his running mate in the 2009 presidential race, a ‘dream ticket’ which ensured him a landslide victory.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive