President Mutharika says he is staying at Mtunthama Residence after Kamuzu Palace was damaged following a post-election disturbance.
By The Forum
President Peter Mutharika is temporarily residing at Mtunthama Residence in Area 3, Lilongwe, following reported damage to Kamuzu Palace.
“I have been in Blantyre and Mangochi because the State House was damaged,” Mutharika told supporters Tuesday during an address in the capital.
In the aftermath of the September 16, 2025 general elections, groups believed to be supporters of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) allegedly vandalized parts of the presidential residence after the party’s loss.
Mutharika defeated then-president Lazarus Chakwera with 56.7 percent of the vote against 33 percent, a margin so wide that Chakwera conceded, saying it would be “pointless to deny victory.”
The Mtunthama residence has previously served as a temporary presidential home. In 2021, then-president Chakwera also relocated there while renovations were underway at Kamuzu Palace, which officials described at the time as being “in bad shape.”
Mutharika is currently in Lilongwe to open the 52nd Session of Parliament on October 31, 2025, marking the start of the First Meeting of the National Assembly and the 2025/2026 Mid-Term Budget Review.
The review, running from November 5 to December 5, 2025, will assess the K8.08 trillion national budget passed in April by the former MCP administration, which was ousted in the September elections.
Ordinarily, the mid-year review allows Parliament to adjust fiscal plans based on current economic conditions. However, the budget already recorded a K669.3 billion deficit in the first quarter — against an annual projection of K2.47 trillion — highlighting the fiscal challenges facing the new administration.
