US embassy cable - 05LILONGWE179

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000179 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PRETORIA, MAPUTO PASS A/S CONSTANCE NEWMAN 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/S, INR/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, KCOR, PHUM, KMCA, MI, President, United Democratic Front, Political 
SUBJECT: UDF OFFICIALS CRY FOUL, DEFEND PARTY 
 
REF: A) LILONGWE 15   B) LILONGWE 152 (notal) 
 
1.  SUMMARY.  In a February 17 meeting with the donor 
community, four United Democratic Front (UDF) officials 
lashed out bitterly against President Muthartika.  The 
officials outlined the political hazards of Mutharika's new 
party, professed support for his anti-corruption efforts, 
and denied that there was ever a plot to assassinate the 
president.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  On February 17, representatives from the donor community 
gathered at the British High Commission at the request of 
senior members of the United Democratic Front (UDF) National 
Executive Committee (NEC).  Speaking on behalf of the party 
were George Mtafu, NEC member and Parliamentarian, Friday 
Jumbe, NEC member and Parliamentarian (recently indicted on 
corruption charges related to his involvement in the 2000 
maize scandal), Sam Mpasu, NEC member, and Brown Mpingajira, 
former opposition party presidential candidate who has since 
re-joined the UDF.  The group, speaking from prepared points 
in an obviously well-rehearsed presentation, began the 
discussion by observing that the president's departure from 
the UDF is a "strange turn of events" and that the UDF wants 
the donors to know the whole story. 
 
WHAT'S WRONG WITH MUTHARIKA 
--------------------------- 
 
3. According to the group, Mutharika is guilty of some of 
the same corrupt acts for which he has vilified his 
erstwhile party.  They accused the president of using 
political loyalty as a means to escape corruption 
investigations, and cited a recent court case of a previous 
UDF official who had been charged with tax evasion, only to 
have his charges mysteriously dropped when he allied with 
the president.  Claiming that officials who have sided with 
the President are merely political opportunists seeking 
immunity from investigation, they described an environment 
of fear and intimidation within the government.  They also 
cited the president's direct control over parliamentary 
budgets, which effectively weakens the legislative branch 
against the executive, as a method the President is using to 
wield political influence.  The Anti-Corruption Bureau 
(ACB), they said, is subject to the whims of the president 
and thus cannot act independently.  They accused the 
president of using public resources in activities related to 
the formation of his new party - a particularly common 
aspect of UDF leadership. 
 
WHO'S MORE CORRPT? 
------------------ 
 
4.  Mtafu attacked the president's methodology of purging 
corruption, and questioned the president's motivation.  He 
noted that Mutharika was out of the country during the 
democratic transition in 1994 and the subsequent 
establishment of government accountability agencies such as 
the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Ombudsman, and the Law 
Commission.  Mtafu accused the president of "hijacking" 
these organizations to further his own political agenda.  He 
added that the president's actions are "as if the UDF is the 
only corrupt party here-- the UDF is corrupt but so are the 
rest." 
 
5.  Noting that it was the UDF that "made sure the president 
was elected", Mpasu professed party support for the 
president's anti-corruption initiatives and categorically 
denied that UDF had tried to thwart Mutharika's agenda. 
Rather, he said, it was the president who refused to 
cooperate with the party.  Several times during the meeting 
the officials referred to the UDF's actions to "make sure" 
Mutharika was elected in the May 2004 elections.  When asked 
directly, the four did not deny that there had been vote 
tampering, and Mpingajira went so far as to say that 
"something sinister" had gone on.  "If there was rigging," 
he said, "none of us at this table knew about it" and "it 
was done by a small group within the UDF." 
 
NO ASSASSINATION PLOT 
--------------------- 
 
6.  Mpingajira carefully described the events surrounding 
the alleged assassination plot on the president (ref A).  He 
said such allegations were absurd and unrealistic, and cited 
the fact that one of the three who were arrested and later 
released remains a presidentially-appointed deputy minister. 
The group vehemently denied any current or previous attempt 
to "eliminate" Mutharika. 
 
COMMENT: PLENTY OF SOUR GRAPES, BUT WORDS OF CAUTION 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
7.  With few Malawians listening to the cries of this dying 
party, it seems the UDF decided in desperation to try their 
message on the diplomats.  The party appears to have 
forgotten that it was the UDF that set the precedent over 
the last ten years for the very behaviors of which they are 
accusing Mutharika.  In spite of the obvious sour-grapes 
rhetoric, the group raised some valid points about the traps 
Mutharika must avoid.  To properly implement his anti- 
corruption campaign, Mutharika will have to ensure he does 
not confuse political loyalty with immunity, and he must 
adhere to legal procedures and processes.  His economic 
policies will need to be transparent and non-partisan, and 
he will have to allow parliament and the ACB freedom to 
operate as independently as possible.  The UDF's complaints 
do not necessarily indicate legitimate failings in any of 
these areas, but represent some of the pot-holes in 
Mutharika's road to political success. 
GILMOUR