MALAWIAN MILITARY'S ROLE IN CURRENT POLITICAL

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