Vice President Cassim Chilumpha of Malawi

Chilumpha was arrested at his home on 28 April 2006 for alleged treason and was transferred to custody in the capital, Lilongwe.

Chilumpha was accused of conspiring with Yusuf Matumula and Rashid Nembo to have Mutharika assassinated.

legislator and writer all rolled into one.

coordinating the inter-party relationships in the legislature.

married and has five children, three girls and two boys.

listening to soft music, and watching television.

Vice President Dr Cassim Chilumpha is open to the possibility of being President Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharikas vice presidential running mate for May 19 presidential race, a close aide to the VP has said.

The close aides of Chilumpha said the two would be a formidable presidential team against former president Dr Bakili Muluzi and opposition leader John Tembo in the May elections.

Dr Chilumpha is open to be Wa Mutharikas running mate.

The current reconciliation between Mutharika and Chilumpha is not wholly genuine.

Mutharika wants the VP to help him pull some votes and Chilumpha is buying his freedom in style and perhaps also posturing himself to complete his agenda of ascending to the throne, he said.

President Mutharika revived a long-disposed of case of corruption in the Ministry of Education while Chilumpha was Minister of Finance.

Chilumpha had resigned constructively saying that the Vice President was not attending cabinet meetings, where he was not invited anyway.

Chilumpha took the matter to court, however, before the courts could hear the matter, on the evening of April 28, 2006, President Mutharika sent armed police to the Vice Presidents official residence in Blantyre, breaking down doors and windows, to seize him as he was offering his evening prayers on allegations that he was planning to assassinate the President.

Chilumpha has been victimised because of his loyalty to UDF but he only get scoffs in return.

Working with the government for Chilumpha is the only wise and plausible solution * can see for him.

Indeed if Chilumpha is to work with Mutharika and accepts the running mate thing, UDF stand to lose miserably.

But the million dollar question is, will the DPP governing council and the Northern Region in particular home of DPP allowa Chilumpha to take over the reigns as second to Bingu at the expense of Goodall Gondwe? Let US wait and see!On the other hand, Chilumpha has learnt a lesson.

Chilumpha is not a common person in politics, he is a force to reckon with, any attempt to ignore him is recipe for disaster in a particular party let alone, UDF.

This man Chilumpha has all it takes to rule Malawi in future.

HIM Chilumpha has all the potentials to return his VEEP status.

Is DPP telling admitting now that Chilumpha is an innocent man.

Chilumpha was put on that position by Bakili to help him solola.

Chilumpha is an opportunist!! WHy not stay with Muluzi?? What if Bingu loses??? We really have no standards at all.

Mutharika will announce either at a political rally or Public media that the government has dropped treason charges against Chilumpha and Yusurf Mathumula.

MY ADVICE TO CHILUMPHA is that learn from past mistakes dont trust Mutharika he evil, ruthless, arrogant, aggressor and dictator.

Chilumpha is thinking of 2014 which is very good.

The fact of the matter is Chilumpha is not all that useless politically because * remember very well that he was very effective as the first publicity of UDF.

Dr Cassim Chilumpha is one politician who has stood trying times.

Chilumpha is one man whom the presidential cap can fit.

To a certain extent it may be a punishment as to what people say ,Chilumpha is an island who likes locking himself up , an invisible man like an invisible web.

Dr Chilumpha is the great statesman and one of the most intelligent individuals in the country.

Chilumpha is an intellectual man, he thinks aloud to such movements with people who not educated who wants money from short cuts.

Whichever way, Chilumpha is tactifull, more tactfull and more unpredictable than any politician in Malawi.

Palibepo vuto apa,ku UDF kuli anthu okakamira maudindo, even kuti milandu ya treason yatha sikuti mudzamupatsa udindo mchipanimo chifukwa munagawana kale maudindo onse,and you are resisting to step down,* dont see anything wrong,Enanu mukutchulapo Islam,inu kodi mu UDF muli asilamu okhaokha? olo boma la aMuluzi munali asilamu okhakha? becoz the way some of you, your comments are like UDF is a party for muslims, and DPP is Christian party,we are all the same,we are all Malawians, Chilumpha has aright to join any party,regardless who are the founders.

Chilumpha lives today as de-jure Veep because of the UDF and the day he stops to belong to the UDF, he will see what happened to Sam Mpasu because government will quickily and swiftly move in to hammer him with the treason charge, which is presently being pursued with caution.

Chilumpha has been part of the UDF, but it is good to caution the general public that he, Chilumpha, is only an artifact in the UDF and not an asset because there is nothing that he has done for the UDF per se.

Malawi Vice President Cassim Chilumpha has been arrested on treason charges and accused of plotting to assassinate the president, deepening a political crisis gripping the impoverished southern African country.

Chilumpha has been arrested on treason charges, police said on Saturday, deepening a political crisis gripping the impoverished southern African country.

Chilumpha is vice chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF), the party which sponsored wa Mutharika's presidential campaign in 2004 but from which he resigned amid tensions over his anti-corruption policies.

Significantly though the now Vice President Cassim Chilumpha remained with the UDF and in effect was now in opposition to the his boss the President.

Following the failed impeachment bid a number of UDF MPs who supported the impeachment bid were arrested and detained, the home of Muluzi was raided and the Vice President Chilumpha was detained for speaking out against the MPs detention.

Chilumpha was later released, but his problems did not end there.

Chilumpha was first arrested last year on corruption charges related to his time as education minister under Muluzi.

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Henry Phoya has denied that the new treason charge against Chilumpha was politically motivated and alleged that Chilumpha had ordered a prominent businessman, linked to Muluzi, to hire a professional hitman.

By Josh AshazOpposition United Democratic Front (UDF) has said the reports that Republican Vice President Dr Cassim Chilumpha had paid K50 ,000 nomination fee to the ruling DPP to contest on its ticket as parliamentary candidate in Nkhotakota South should be taken with a pinch of a salt.

The party believes very strongly that Dr Cassim Chilumpha is UDF at heart, said Mvula.

Chilumpha was arrested in 2005 for allegedly plotting to kill President Bingu Mutharika.

Malawian Vice President Cassim Chilumpha has won the sympathy of the clergy who are demanding his unconditional release from house arrest.

Chilumpha was arrested in April last year alongside businessmen Yusuf Matumula and Rashid Nembo on allegations of plotting to assassinate Mutharika.

Chilumpha says he is being persecuted because he refused to join the presidents party.

Apart from the treason case, the state has also shown interest to pursue the education scam case in which millions of kwacha went down the drain through dubious contracts while Chilumpha was Education Minister.

The case, currently pending in court created a constitutional crisis with some lawyers arguing that the President has no mandate to fire his deputy while others concur with Mutharika that Chilumpha had indeed constructively resigned.

Chilumpha says he has been unable to attend cabinet meetings because his office is underfunded.

President Bingu wa Mutharika and his deputy.

Constitutional Affairs Minister Henry Phoya disclosed on Saturday.

After Chilumpha was arrested on allegations that he was plotting to assassinate Wa Mutharika with businessmen, the vice president was released on bail yet under house arrest in May this year.

Mutharika wants to lure UDF supporters, as the candidature of theformer president Bakili Muluzi is uncertain while Chilumpha is justlooking for a political base as he has no party to represent in the2009 polls, observed Blessings Chinsinga of Chancellor College of theUniversity of Malawi.

Since then, Chilumpha has openly shown and expressed his dissatisfaction with the partys leadership.

Vice President Cassim Chilumpha has describedThursdays UDF national convention as not being free and fair, arguingthat the organisers gave national chairman Bakili Muluzi unfairadvantage by allowing him to address the delegates for more than onehour as well as allowing Lucius Banda to sing praise songs for theformer head of state, among other reasons.

Chilumpha was denied a chance to speak whilst his rival Muluzi spokefor hours on end, both as a sitting chairman of the party and as acontender for the post of presidential candidate.

Chilumpha said it best when he spoke out against Muluzi's use ofmoney to get his party's support at the coming convention.

Chilumpha said some of the senior members of the party who attendedthe meetings included Friday Jumbe and Brown Mpinganjira, but disputedmedia reports that described the meetings as secret, saying they werenot.

Chilumpha said nothing, including the treason case he is answering,in which he is accused of plotting to assassinate President Bingu waMutharika, could stop him from contesting for nomination as the partystorch-bearer in 2009.

Since Chilumpha was arrested on April 29, he has not been fully informed of the reasons for his detention by the state but only to be charged with treason.

Chilumpha was arrested alongside two Blantyre-based businessmen, Yusuf Matumula and Rashid Nembo, who are also close associates of the country's former president Bakili Muluzi.

Government's prosecution team of four lawyers, led by a British lawyer Jeffrey Jowell, counter argued that however high Chilumpha was he was not above the law for him not to stand trial in court.

Malawian vice president arrested on treason charges Malawi Vice President Cassim Chilumpha was on Friday night arrested on alleged treason charges barely two months after the courts prevented President Bingu Wa Mutharika from sacking him.

Chilumpha was arrested in April last year and later charged with conspiracy to murder and treason.

Chilumpha had been sacked by Mutharika in February last year, but the president was forced to reinstate him following a court ruling.

Malawi's embattled Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha was arrested on treason charges on Friday night, after a court prevented the government from firing him, his lawyer and opposition officials said.

Chilumpha is accused of holding meetings at his official residence in the commercial capital, Blantyre, at which members of his United Democratic Front party conspired to topple President Bingu wa Mutharika's government, attorney Fahad Assani said.

Chilumpha says he is being persecuted because he refused to join the new political party Mr.

Sunday, April 30, 2006By Mabvuto Banda,BLANTYRE, ReutersMalawi Vice President Cassim Chilumpha has been arrested on treason charges, police said on Saturday, deepening a political crisis gripping the impoverished southern African country.

government officials, his lawyer said Wednesday.

BLANTYRE, Mar 22, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX) - Malawi's vice-president Cassim Chilumpha has blamed his government for failure to invest in irrigation, saying it is the main cause of the food shortage the country is likely to face this year due to drought.

Chilumpha said Tuesday during the World Water Day commemoration in Blantyre, Malawi needs to urgently find ways and means of utilizing the vast water resources if the nation is to get out of its perennial hunger situation.

Chilumpha said it was sad that Malawi whose economic development is heavily dependent on agriculture and management of water resources, has only two percent of its agricultural production under irrigation.

Chilumpha said in the country at least five million people out of the population of 12 million still have no access to safe and potable water.

Malawi Vice President Cassim Chilumpha has been arrested on treason charges for allegedly plotting to assassinate Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika , Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Henry Phoya said Saturday.

Chilumpha was arrested late Friday evening and Phoya said he allegedly asked a prominent businessman to hire an assassin to kill the president so that he could take over the office in exchange for government contracts.

Chilumpha was arrested for alleged treason on Friday night at his official Mudi residence in the commercial capital, Blantyre.

Chilumpha has made a sudden change of heart since he lost his presidential bid in the UDF to former president Bakili Muluzi at their party convention early this year.

The opposition united democratic front (UDF) has condemned the long house arrest, saying Chilumpha has been put “in a cage for no reason at all.

When Muluzi was leaving for the UK, he appointed Chilumpha to be acting national chairman, yet Chilumpha has no position in the party.

Chilumpha was charged with corruption in November 2005.

Chilumpha was restored to his position by the courts, which subsequently ruled that he could not be dismissed on the grounds put forward by the government.

Malawi Vice President Cassim Chilumpha was on Friday night arrested on alleged treason charges barely two months after the courts prevented President Bingu Wa Mutharika from sacking him.

I can confirm to you that the Right Honorable Chilumpha, was indeed arrested this evening for alleged treason offences," said Assani, who is also representing the vice president in a court case, in which Chilumpha is challenging his February 8 attempted sacking as the country's deputy leader.

Assani said that Chilumpha was picked up together with an influential Blantyre based businessman Yusuf Matumula, who is also a close ally of former President Bakili Muluzi.

Chilumpha remains in the UDF, making it difficult for the two most powerful men in Malawi to work together.

The cabinet unanimously agreed that the vice president on his own volition had not worked in accordance with his mandate and therefore believed that Chilumpha had constructively resigned from his position as the country's vice president.

Malawai's Vice President Cassim Chilumpha has been arrested on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.

UDF spokesman Sam Mpasu said Chilumpha was refuting the fact that he had resigned and said Mutharika did not have the power to fire the vice-president.