US embassy cable - 05LILONGWE16

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, PHUM, MI, Political, United Democratic Front 
SUBJECT: UDF PARTY FRAGMENTATION LEADS TO VIOLENCE, 
INTIMIDATION 
 
REF: A. 03 LILONGWE 728 
 
     B. LILONGWE 15 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY.  The expanding rift (reftel A) between 
President Mutharika and former President Muluzi, now chairman 
of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF), has recently 
been punctuated by sporadic violence, allegedly by the 
UDF-affiliated Young Democrats.  Members of the UDF known to 
be allied with Mutharika have been harassed and had their 
party-owned vehicles stolen in confrontations with old-guard 
party loyalist thugs, and the recent arrests for treason 
(reftel B) have increased the UDF's rhetoric against the 
current government.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.   (U) On January 2, allegedly with the blessing of UDF 
leadership, a group of Young Democrats confiscated a party 
vehicle from a UDF official thought to be on the Mutharika 
side of the political division.  A district governor was 
reportedly beaten up in the incident, which occurred at 
Muluzi's home.  The Young Democrats unsuccessfully attempted 
to retrieve several other vehicles.  The vehicle was later 
returned to the regional governor, and UDF party officials 
have publicly dismissed the incident as theft. 
 
3.  (U) On January 5, a deputy minister was harassed by the 
Young Democrats because his nephew is an independent 
political candidate in the upcoming bi-elections.  The 
nephew's election would weaken the UDF's position in 
Parliament, thus strengthening the influence of Mutharika. 
Another UDF governor was attacked at a Mutharika rally in the 
area on the same day. The perpetrators, presumed to be Young 
Democrats, were later arrested. 
 
4.  (U) Late in 2003, a UDF cabinet minister was verbally 
harassed and threatened because of his alliance with 
Mutharika.  The minister, previously held in high regard by 
the UDF, was not injured but has clearly alienated the UDF 
old-guard.  In an effort to distance himself from the 
incident, Muluzi denounced such acts and offered a public 
apology. 
 
4.  (SBU) COMMENT.  Though the UDF has no shortage of 
political foes, it has obviously turned on itself.  The 
incidents above illustrate just how deep the division between 
party and government has gone.  Fueled by the President's 
anti-corruption drive and determination not to provide 
financial and political support to the party, fundamental 
disagreements between the two sides have caused each to lash 
out at the other, though in markedly different ways.  The UDF 
(also known as the Muluzi side), unable to discern where 
party influence in governing the country ends, has reverted 
to some of its old tactics of intimidation and thuggery, even 
if on a petty level.  The government, or Mutharika side, has 
responded by reducing its political dependence on the UDF and 
acting independently.  Mutharika's continued assertion that 
party and government are not necessarily one and the same has 
apparently left Muluzi frustrated, surrounded by an 
ever-dwindling circle of allies.  In reaction, Muluzi is 
taking more extreme measures.  Ironically, Muluzi's 
propensity for extra-legal actions may make it easier, both 
politically and legally, for Mutharika to neutralize Muluzi's 
persistent grip on power. 
GILMOUR