Chakhwantha out on bail

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) legislator Peter Chankhwantha was on Tuesday night granted bail from police custody hours after he was arrested for alleged treason in an ongoing reported plot to oust Malawi President Peter Mutharika.

Malawi24 had earlier on reported that Chakhwantha, handed himself over to the police in Lilongwe earlier today. Chakhwantha, who is also MCP’s Legal Advisor, was on wanted list relating to the same WhatsApp plot.

He was driven to the police headquarters in Lilongwe’s Area 30 by Gustave Kaliwo, MCP secretary general.

According to reports he has also been netted on treason charges just like Jessie Kabwila.

Ulemu Msungama on the other hand is answering sedition charges. The three are all out on bail.

In a string of WhatsApp messages, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) officials conspired to pursue an Arab Spring-like revolution to overthrow president Mutharika and his government.

They claimed to have been infuriated by what they see as the president’s failure to end a stinging food crisis that has seen maize prices triple in just under a few months and inflation exceed over 20%. The kwacha has also sharply fallen.

The MCP officials are said to have agreed to take advantage of the situation to call for a rebellion that would appear to have been sparked by Malawians in diaspora.