C O N F I D E N T I A L LILONGWE 000564

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/S, INR/AA
MCC FOR KEVIN SABA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2015
TAGS: KCOR KDEM PGOV PREL MI POL MIL
SUBJECT: MALAWIAN MILITARY'S ROLE IN CURRENT POLITICAL
TENSIONS


Classified By: CDA D. Gilmour for reasons 1.4 b and d

1.(C) On Tuesday June 28 PolOff met with General Marko
Chiziko, Commander of the Malawian Defense Force (MDF), and
discussed the current Presidential impeachment rumors.
Chiziko has close ties with President Mutharika, and hails
from Mutharika's home area. The General said that the MDF
would be concerned with national security if an impeachment
effort were to go through. He stated that it is "the role of
the military to be impartial, but it's hard to be impartial
when you see that one side is in the right." He then went
on to discuss the problems Africa has had with military
coups, highlighting military leaders' tendency to stay in
power long after crisis-periods end.

2.(C) Comment: The Malawian military is a professional
organization that has a long history of respecting civilian
rule. It is first unlikely that the opposition could
leverage enough votes to move forward with an impeachment of
the President. It is also unlikely that the MDF would step
in at any point. General Chiziko is well respected as a
military leader who fully understands the civ-mil divide.
However, if impeachment proceedings were to go forward, it
would be worth keeping an eye on the MDF. A possible
scenario exists where, if President Mutharika were impeached
in Parliament, the MDF might be
pressured by his supporters in public to step in and "restore
order".
GILMOUR