VICE PRESIDENT ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH CORRUPTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L LILONGWE 000981 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/S JEANNE MALONEY STATE FOR INR/AA E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2010 TAGS: KDEM PGOV MI SUBJECT: VICE PRESIDENT ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH CORRUPTION REF: LILONGWE 977 Classified By: Political Officer Tyler Sparks for reason 1.4 b and d. ¶1. (C) Vice President Cassim Chilumpha was placed under house arrest on the evening of November 15 on corruption charges . He will appear in court on Monday, November 21 to face charges in Lilongwe. The timing of the arrest is clearly politically motivated, coming after the VP had attacked government and President Mutharika for a string of recent arrests of opposition MPs (reftel). ¶2. (SBU) Chilumpha's lawyer says he is facing three corruption charges from when he served as Minister of Finance between March 1, 1998 and March 30, 1999. Chilumpha allegedly authorized payments of $1.3 million U.S. to his second wife for contract work that was never completed. The same case brought against Chilumpha in 2000, but it was prematurely discontinued before reaching a verdict. ¶3. (SBU) Chilumpha was visited by police yesterday afternoon at his home in Southern Malawi, and served with a summons to appear in court today, November 16, in Lilongwe. His lawyer successfully argued that he did not have enough time to prepare, and the court date has been put off until the 21st. He will reportedly remain under house arrest until the 21st, at which point it is expected that the case will be referred to the constitutional court. They would then have to determine whether or not a sitting Vice-President has immunity from prosecution or not, before the case could move forward. ¶4. (C) Interestingly, the case is being brought against the VP by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP),not the politically-independent Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). The ACB had been investigating Chilumpha, but had apparently determined that they didn't have the evidence to press the case. In our regular briefings with ACB regarding ongoing investigations, they have not mentioned any active case against the vice president. ¶5. (C) Comment: The fact that the DPP, who normally does not deal with corruption cases, brought the charges against Chilumpha points to the political nature of the arrest. Chilumpha is still closely aligned with former President Bakili Muluzi (reftel). The case against Chilumpha could be difficult to prove, as it is regarding events that took place over five years ago. The arrest of the vice president takes the recent tit-for-tat dispute between the president and opposition to a much higher level. It is a risky move for Mutharika, because he may now be seen as trampling on the constitution to get a foe removed from office quickly, much the same way the opposition's impeachment moves have been viewed by many Malawians. Also, the Muslim community will interpret the arrest as another attack on their faith by the Catholic Mutharika. This move will further inflame passions in the ongoing battle between Mutharika and Muluzi, and will close the door further to any possible reconciliation between the president and the UDF opposition. GILMOUR