BLANTYRE – Malawi’s vice-president Cassim Chilumpha, who faced charges of plotting to kill President Bingu wa Mutharika, was barred by a judge on yesterday from travelling to London to receive medical treatment.
High court Judge Mclean Kamwambe said he could find no satisfactory reason why Chilumpha, who had his passport confiscated after being charged last year, could not be treated in Malawi or another nearby country such as South Africa. Chilumpha, who suffered from high blood pressure and had repeatedly complained of persistent pain throughout his body, had argued that doctors in Malawi were unable to diagnose or treat his illness.The ruling effectively overturned an earlier judgment that was challenged by the government over fears that Chilumpha would jump bail.Kamwambe said: “It would not be in the interest of justice to let the applicant travel abroad.The court’s order permitting the applicant to travel is hereby set aside or revoked.”Chilumpha was arrested in April last year and later charged with conspiracy to murder and treason.The vice-president was charged along with tycoons Yusuf Matumula and Rashid Nembo, both allies of former president Bakili Muluzi, after a Malawian minister said they had hired South African hitmen to kill the president.Chilumpha had been sacked by Mutharika in February 2006, but the president was forced to reinstate him after a court ruling.Nampa- AFPChilumpha, who suffered from high blood pressure and had repeatedly complained of persistent pain throughout his body, had argued that doctors in Malawi were unable to diagnose or treat his illness.The ruling effectively overturned an earlier judgment that was challenged by the government over fears that Chilumpha would jump bail.Kamwambe said: “It would not be in the interest of justice to let the applicant travel abroad.The court’s order permitting the applicant to travel is hereby set aside or revoked.”Chilumpha was arrested in April last year and later charged with conspiracy to murder and treason.The vice-president was charged along with tycoons Yusuf Matumula and Rashid Nembo, both allies of former president Bakili Muluzi, after a Malawian minister said they had hired South African hitmen to kill the president.Chilumpha had been sacked by Mutharika in February 2006, but the president was forced to reinstate him after a court ruling.Nampa- AFP
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