UDF SPOKESMAN ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT, ARRESTED FOR TRESSPASSING IN GRAVEYARD

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000235



SIPDIS



SIPDIS

SENSITIVE



STATE FOR AF/S GABRIELLE MALLORY

STATE FOR INR/AA



E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, MI

SUBJ: UDF SPOKESMAN ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT, ARRESTED FOR

TRESSPASSING IN GRAVEYARD





1. (U) Summary: United Democratic Front (UDF) Spokesman Sam

Mpasu was arrested for loitering near a graveyard on

Saturday, March 11. Mpasu, rumored to be a 2009

presidential hopeful, could be disqualified if the crime is

deemed to fall under the category of "moral turpitude" and

he is convicted. Perhaps even more damaging, Mpasu is now

publicly suspected of witchcraft, a charge which could

forever tarnish his reputation.



2. (U) Mpasu, who is also former President Bakili Muluzi's

spokesman and close confidant, was accused of witchcraft and

nearly beaten up by local villagers after they found him and

an associate in the graveyard. Police arrived on the scene

as Mpasu faced the angry villagers, and quickly arrested him

and moved him to a jail in Zomba. He claims that he was

going to the house of a friend, but lost the way and wound

up in the graveyard. Mpasu has been released on bail, and

his case is scheduled for trial in mid-April.



3. (SBU) Police spokesman Willie Mwaluka told Poloff that

Mpasu was arrested for "trespassing on a burial place,"

which qualifies as a misdemeanor under the penal code.

However, Mwaluka said the crime would qualify as one of

moral turpitude, thus constitutionally barring Mpasu, if

convicted, from running for President for seven years. This

opinion was seconded by Mrs. Janet Banda of the Malawi Law

Commission.



4. (SBU) Comment: Regardless of the actual charges

themselves, being linked in any way to accusations of

witchcraft could alone damage Mpasu's political future. An

influential figure in the UDF (and the former Speaker of

Parliament and Minister of Education),Mpasu has publicly

declared his desire to be the UDF nominee for president in

2009. However, if the claims of witchcraft have legs, his

reputation "in the village" could be tarnished.



5. (U) The belief in witchcraft is fairly wide-spread in

Malawi, and its practice is widely seen as evil and

dangerous. Despite Mpasu's claims, police say he was

seeking out a witch-doctor in the graveyard. Not only is

this damaging for Mpasu's political career, but it is a

public embarrassment for Muluzi, who has effectively been

using Mpasu as his mouthpiece for the past two years. End

Comment.



EASTHAM