Maravi

(HERALD) Bakili Muluzi faces arrest

Bakili Muluzi faces arrest
By Maganizo Fly Mazeze in Lilongwe

Former Malawi president Bakili Muluzi faces arrest for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Muluzi is currently in Britain on a private visit, but police this week arrested top members of his United Democratic Front and serving and retired military officers, accusing them of conspiring with Muluzi.

Those arrested in a pre-dawn raid on Tuesday include former army commander Retired General Joseph Chimbayo, former Inspector General of Police Joseph Aironi, and three top serving army officers, Brigadiers Marcel Chirwa, Cosgrove Mituka and Jack Mtende.

Others are former Mayor of the City of Blantyre John Chikakwiya and the UDF's secretary general Kennedy Makwangwala. On Wednesday evening, heavily armed police officers searched Muluzi's home and demanded guns from his private guards. However, the guards refused to surrender the guns without official instruction from the Inspector General of Police.

Government sources said Muluzi was likely to be arrested when he returns from his private visit towards the end of this month. However, no warrant of arrest has

been issued for Muluzi, who is chairman of the UDF, which recently elected him to stand for re-election as Malawi in polls slated for next year despite having served the maximum two five-year terms as provided for under the country's constitution

The crackdown came hardly two days after President Mutharika, at a church ceremony in the northern part of the country, accused Muluzi of planning a coup using the controversial Section 65 of the constitution that deals with crossing of the floor by parliamentarians.

Mutharika alleged that the former president had taken a hard-line stance on the implementation of Section 65, which could see his minority government losing over 70 legislators who crossed the floor, therefore making it possible for the opposition to impeach him. The president further alleged that Muluzi would then return to take over as Head of State.

The political tension created by the arrests as well as public utterances by Mutharika demonising the opposition have thrown first-ever discussions between government and the opposition on resolving a parliamentary impasse into disarray.

Government spokesperson Patricia Kaliati said in an interview that the truth about the coup plot will be known in court. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Ernest Malenga and the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Henry Phoya both confirmed the arrests but refused to give details.

Malawi army spokesperson Colonel Clement Namalenga said they received communication from the police that some of their officers were wanted for questioning on matters of national security. He refused to be drawn into further discussions. Police spokesperson Willie Mwaluka insisted he had no information about the arrests.

The political tension here was exacerbated after Muluzi was last month elected UDF's presidential candidate for the 2009 general election, even in the face of protests from various commentators that he served his two maximum terms from 1994-2004 as provided for by the Malawi constitution.

The tension further grew when parliament reconvened after an eight-month controversial recess.

The opposition boycotted Parliament for one week but returned two weeks ago and brought the House into total chaos, with no business transacted, hoping that the Speaker of Parliament would be forced to declare vacant seats of the 70 MPs. The section stops an MP from joining another party represented in Parliament if he/she was supported by another during elections.

President Mutharika, after observing there was no progress in the National Assembly, initiated a meeting between the parties, which he chaired. After several days of discussions without breaking the deadlock, Mutharika went on the offensive, accusing the opposition of sticking to their guns that government MPs be fired from the House.

Mutharika, at two public meetings in the past week, said that he had implored upon the opposition to discuss the government business as well as the budget first before asking the Speaker to implement Section 65, to which he said the opposition vehemently refused.

He then threatened to call for a referendum to ask Malawians whether they want Section 65 or the budget, comments that have been dismissed by commentators here as only aimed at fuelling the already fragile political impasse. The parliament stalemate remains as the House continues to be adjourned every day after sitting for less than one hour for the past two weeks.

This is not the first time that Mutharika has accused the opposition and others of treason. In 2004, about five top UDF and government officials were arrested for treason when he accused them of plotting to assassinate him. He later pardoned them.

The president also charged his vice, Cassim Chilumpha in 2005 with treason, alleging that he had hired South African assassins to kill him. Chilumpha is currently under arrest but his case is yet to start. In 2006, two other UDF officials were also arrested for allegedly conspiring to overthrow his government. The courts, however, acquitted them for lack of evidence.

Mutharika's actions over the past few weeks have attracted condemnation from analysts and opposition politicians.

John Tembo, leader of opposition in Parliament who is also president for the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), described the demonisation of the opposition by Mutharika as regrettable.

"Malawians will now know who is failing the discussions. Instead of giving chance to the discussions, the president has gone to the public demonising the opposition. The president has always been the problem to resolving many problems rocking the country," Tembo told journalists outside parliament on Monday.

Chairperson of the Council for NGOs in Malawi (CONGOMA), an umbrella body for over 300 civic institutions, Reverend MacDonald Sembereka, said it was unfortunate that government and the opposition were failing to reach a compromise on their differences.

"It is now clear that both parties did not go into the discussions with open minds. The problem is that these differences have cost the country a lot in political and economic development. We need to find a solution now," Rev Sembereka said.

The controversial Section 65 states that any MP elected into the House on a party ticket will not join another also represented in the National Assembly. Mutahrika was elected on a UDF ticket but dumped it and formed his own Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Most government ministers defected from other parties, especially the UDF, to join the DPP.

It is these political parties which petitioned the Speaker three years ago to dismiss these MPs. However, the case has moved back and forth in the courts, until last June when the Supreme Court ruled that Section 65 was valid. Speaker Louis Chimango, however, ruled last week that he cannot invoke his powers on Section 65 because some legislators obtained court injunctions restraining him from declaring their seats vacant.

Malawi goes to the polls next year in a presidential and parliamentary election and many commentators fear that should there be no solution to the current stand-off, the road to the election might be a rough one.

Labels: BAKILI MULUZI, MALAWI

posted by MrK @ 3:35 PM