VICE-PRESIDENT ARRESTED FOR TREASON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000376

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/S GABRIELLE MALLORY
STATE FOR INR/AA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KCOR MI
SUBJECT: VICE-PRESIDENT ARRESTED FOR TREASON

REF: A. LILONGWE 137

B. LILONGWE 163

C. LILONGWE 258

D. 05 LILONGWE 15

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1. (SBU) Summary: Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha was
arrested on April 28 and charged with treason and conspiracy
to commit murder, for an alleged plot to assassinate
President Mutharika. The Government claims Chilumpha, who
has long been estranged from Mutharika, and four others hired
a hit-man in South Africa to kill the President. Four days
after his arrest, Chilumpha is still being held in severely
over-crowded Maula prison, and has yet to have a bail
hearing. The Minister of Justice claims the government has
audio recordings of Chilumpha and his alleged cohorts
plotting, and will present the alleged hit-man as a witness
in the case. However, it remains to be seen exactly what
credible evidence the government--which has been trying to
rid itself of Chilumpha for months (reftels)--will be able to
put forward in court. End Summary.

Arrested for Treason and Conspiracy
--------------


2. (U) Police arrested Chilumpha and three of his alleged
accomplices late on the evening of April 28, and are
reportedly still searching for the fourth suspect. Chilumpha
and the three others, confined in Lilongwe's Maula prison on
Friday night, were not charged until Sunday, April 30th.
Three of the alleged co-conspirators are members of the
United Democratic Front (UDF) executive board, and the fourth
is the leader of the Malawi Democratic Party (MDP),a minor
party not represented in parliament. The government claims
that Chilumpha, acting with his accomplices, plotted to,
"have his Excellency Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika assassinated so
that he could ascend to the high office of State President,"
according to a statement from the Ministry of Justice.
Chilumpha's lawyer plans to file court documents on May 2
making the case that Chilumpha has immunity from prosecution
under the law, and he will apply for bail for his
alleged co-conspirators.

VP in Trouble Again
--------------


3. (SBU) Chilumpha and President Mutharika have been
estranged since Mutharika pulled out of the United Democratic
Front (UDF) party and launched his own party over a year ago.
Chilumpha chose to remain in the UDF, and stayed loyal to
former President Bakili Muluzi. Since then Mutharika has
tried unsuccessfully to rid himself of Chilumpha, including
accepting his "constructive resignation" in early 2006
(reftel B) and withdrawing the VP's security detail, vehicles
and other perks of office. That move was blocked by the
Supreme court in the form of an injunction, and government
was forced to back down. Mutharika subsequently forbade
Chilumpha from attending any public functions. In recent
weeks, the VP controversy had subsided, and there was no
mention of Chilumpha in debates during last month's sitting
of Parliament.

The Muslim Angle
--------------


4. (SBU) One by-product of Mutharika's continuing battle with
Chilumpha has been the souring of the Muslim community's
relationship with the President's government. Malawi's Muslim
community, which makes up roughly 20 percent of the
population, widely identifies with the UDF (both Muluzi and
Chilumpha are Muslim). Acts against Chilumpha are seen by
some Muslim leaders as examples of targeted government
discrimination against the Muslim community. In this
particular instance, the majority of Chilumpha's alleged
co-conspirators, along with his lawyer, are also Muslim.
Though there are few signs that the government is indeed
targeting Muslims, the government has not effectively
addressed that perception and seems content to ignore it.

Comment: Is the Plot For Real?
--------------


5. (SBU) On the surface, the charges against Chilumpha come
across as a little far fetched, and many Malawians will see
this as just another attempt by government to remove
Chilumpha from office. This is the second alleged
assassination attempt on Mutharika in 15 months. The first

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one in January 2005 (ref D),in which Chilumpha was not
involved, resulted in a pre-trial presidential pardon for the
three alleged co-conspirators, one of whom has since joined
the president's new party and been elevated to a deputy
minister position in government. Malawians could hardly be
blamed for taking the view that accusations of assassination
plots have a political overtone.


6. (SBU) Rumors of President Mutharika being sick with cancer
have floated around Lilongwe over the past six months, which,
if true, would be motivation enough for Mutharika to attempt
to put someone else into the Vice-President's office. Also,
coming just weeks after the government's last failed attempt
to remove Chilumpha and hours after the end of the
parliamentary session, the timing of these treason
allegations is suspicious, to say the least. Placing the VP
in prison over the weekend, rather than under house arrest,
also shows how personal the rift between Mutharika and
Chilumpha has become.


7. (SBU) That said, there is no love lost for Chilumpha among
the general public, and the subdued public reaction since the
arrest would indicate that many Malawians seem willing to
believe that the VP (and through him Muluzi) would go to
extreme measures to put the UDF back in power. In the end,
the plausibility of the charges will come down to the
evidence that the government brings to the table.

EASTHAM