MALAWI: Opposition leader's arrest "miscalculated", say analysts

JOHANNESBURG, 19 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - Political analysts have described Malawian opposition leader Gwanda Chakuamba's arrest last week as a "miscalculation" that has made him an unworthy "martyr" in the cause of freedom of expression.

Chakuamba was arrested after being sacked from the cabinet two weeks ago, reportedly to pave the way for an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation into allegations that he had bought a luxury car with World Bank funds.

He was detained for questioning after making a political speech in which he was said to have insulted President Bingu wa Mutharika and predicted that he would be out of office by Christmas.

Political analyst Rafiq Hajat, director of the Institute for Policy Interaction described Chakuamba's arrest as a "great miscalculation", and remarked that the Protected Flags, Names and Emblems Act should be done away with because it was out of line with the constitution, which protects Malawians' right to free speech.

However, according to Hajat, Chakuamba "lacked credibility" and had lost "support" among Malawians.

Chakuamba was one of the main opposition candidates in last year's elections but joined a reconciliation government, along with several top politicians from his Republican Party. He quit the Republican Party and joined the president's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) where he was elected as interim first vice-president. Chakuamba had served more than a decade in jail for sedition under Malawi's late authoritarian leader, Hastings Banda.

Chakuamba has now announced that he will take his party's 16 MPs along with him to the opposition benches.

"Chakuamba has displayed a lack of ideology in the past," said Hajat, adding that although constitutionally enshrined freedom of expression needed to be protected, the political leader's remarks amounted to an "abuse of the freedom of expression - the use of such language is unacceptable."

"I personally feel that the act must be amended to exclude protection for the president, who is an elected leader. The arrest has undermined democratic principles, but it has also has managed to win Chakuamba some sympathy," commented political analyst Boniface Dulani.

"There is no grassroots support for leaders like Chakuamba, who was minister of agriculture and had reportedly demanded a BMW as his official vehicle," said Mavuto Bamusi, deputy national coordinator of the Malawi Economic Justice Network, a coalition of 69 NGOs. He was commenting in the context of Malawi experiencing its worst harvest in a decade.

The Chakuamba saga is yet another episode in Malawi's ever-changing political landscape, in which Mutharika's strong anti-corruption stance has ruffled many feathers.

Chakuamba has warned that he now planned to join the opposition to impeach Mutharika.

Political bickering between Mutharika and his political rival, former president of the country and now chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Bakili Muluzi, has been raging since June, when the UDF proposed the impeachment motion because Mutharika had left the party after it sponsored him in the national elections.

Mutharika formed his own political party, DPP, consigning the UDF to the role of an opposition party.

IRIN's attempts to get comment from Chakuamba and the Malawian authorities were unsuccessful.

[ENDS]