US embassy cable - 04LILONGWE1110

UNCLAS LILONGWE 001110 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/S A. GALANEK 
STATE FOR EB/IFD/OMA F. CHISHOLM 
STATE FOR EB/IFD/ODF L. SPECHT 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO TREASURY/INTL AFFAIRS/AFRICA L. KOHLER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, PGOV, KCOR, KMCA, MI, Political 
SUBJECT: BLANTYRE MAYOR ARRESTED FOR CORRUPTION 
 
REF: LILONGWE 1086 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified--not for Internet 
distribution. 
 
1. (U) The mayor of Malawi's largest city, Blantyre, has been 
arrested for corruption, according to unconfirmed newspaper 
reports.  John Chikakwiya, a senior member of the nominally 
ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) and one of the leading 
loyalists of former President Bakili Muluzi, is reported as 
having been arrested Thursday for stealing MK400,000 ($3,700) 
in donations targeted for maintaining city streets. 
 
2. (U) Chikakwiya is one of several members of a Muluzi 
loyalist faction that has been openly critical of President 
Bingu wa Mutharika's anti-corruption campaign, at least 
partly out of self-interest.  He and several other loyalists 
(Dumbo Lemani, Kennedy Makwangwala, and Salule Masangwi) held 
a press conference in late November condemning the arrests of 
former ministers and other senior UDF members as political 
persecution.  Chikakwiya has been a UDF extremist in the 
past; upon his (indirect) election as Blantyre's mayor in 
2000, he immediately banned all except UDF political 
demonstrations (though the courts quickly overturned the ban). 
 
3. (SBU) COMMENT: This arrest will doubtless intensify the 
growing rift between Mutharika's and Muluzi's political 
factions within the UDF (reftel).  Mutharika has arrested 
several of Muluzi's senior lieutenants in his anti-corruption 
campaign and shows no signs of letting up.  While most 
observers dismiss the accusations of political persecution, 
the GOM needs to make its first convictions, rather than more 
arrests, in order to maintain its popular legitimacy. 
GILMOUR