Ten held for alleged assassination plot released

Ten opposition leaders and businessmen detained last week in Malawi in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate President Bingu wa Mutharika have been released due to lack of evidence, news reports said on Monday. Among those released at the weekend was Kamlepo Kalua, leader of the small opposition Malawi Democratic Party. The bail hearing of Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha, said to have been the mastermind of the plot, and of his two alleged accomplices, Yusuf Matumula, a prominent businessman, and Rashid Nembo, has been set for Thursday, according to his lawyer, Fahad Assani, former director of public prosecutions. Assani told IRIN that the bail application documents had been processed by the High Court on Saturday. The government insists it has evidence that Chilumpha, a senior member of the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), hired a would-be assassin from South Africa to eliminate Mutharika and take power as next in line in terms of the constitution. Chilumpha's arrest came two months after the Constitutional Court ordered his reinstatement, following an attempt by Mutharika to remove him by means of a "constructive resignation". The court ruled that only parliament could impeach the vice-president.