{"id":7275,"date":"2024-10-29T09:15:59","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T09:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diamondtvzambia.com\/?p=7275"},"modified":"2024-10-29T09:15:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T09:15:59","slug":"senior-malawi-politician-accused-of-plotting-to-kill-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diamondtvzambia.com\/staging\/7839\/senior-malawi-politician-accused-of-plotting-to-kill-president\/","title":{"rendered":"SENIOR MALAWI POLITICIAN ACCUSED OF PLOTTING TO KILL PRESIDENT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A leading member of Malawi\u2019s opposition has been charged with plotting to kill the country’s President, Lazarus Chakwera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patricia Kaliati, Secretary-General of the UTM party, was arrested last week on suspicion of “conspiring with others to commit a serious offence”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Appearing on Monday at a court in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, the 57-year-old did not speak. But her lawyer argued that the politician maintained her innocence, local media reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few details of the alleged plot have been shared and various opposition figures claim the charges against Kaliati are politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UTM supporters gathered outside the court and sang anti-government songs ahead of the hearing, according to the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside, the court heard that Kaliati had two co-conspirators – said to be on the run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The magistrate eventually ruled that Kaliati could be released on bail as investigations continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state prosecutor had asked for her to be held for another week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police in Malawi said they were acting within the law and that Kaliati’s rights would be respected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her party, the UTM, was part of the county’s government until June when it withdrew following the death of its leader, Saulos Chilima, who was serving as vice-president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He died aged 51 after a military aircraft he was flying in crashed in a forest in the north of Malawi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaliati has since presented herself as a candidate to replace Chilima as party leader, with a view to challenge Chakwera in next year\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A primary school teacher before entering politics, Kaliati is well known for her outspoken, straight-talking character. [BBC News]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A leading member of Malawi\u2019s opposition has been charged with plotting to kill the country’s President, Lazarus Chakwera. Patricia Kaliati, Secretary-General of the UTM party, was arrested last week on suspicion of “conspiring with others to commit a serious offence”. Appearing on Monday at a court in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, the 57-year-old did not speak. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t