Court sends Kamlepo, Makande to jail
Zomba Magistrate Court has given opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) deputy secretary general Hophmally Makande and Malawi Democratic Party (MDP) president Kamlepo Kalua a twenty month prison sentence
Makande was found guilty in an offence of proposing violence whilst Kalua was convicted for uttering seditious words.
The court heard that the offences were committed at the political rally of UDF during the closing of May 19 elections campaign in the lake side district of Mangochi.
Former president Bakili Muluzi addressed the rally.
The court established that the two politicians threatened that UDF would take the law into its own hands if Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) did not rescind its decision to bar Muluzi from the presidential race.
Mec barred Muluzi from contesting on grounds that he already served his maximum two five year consecutive constitutional terms.
Recently, Kamlepo warned the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that he will call for mass action if it continues to promote tribalism and regionalism.
“Next year (2010) if we see DPP manifesto is not implemented. If we see there is too much tribalism, too much regionalism as we have seen, I will come out and I will tell the people that this is not what we fought for, what we wanted,” said Kalua.
“I am a political heavyweight. I am the only one that can stand up to [President] Bingu wa Mutharika and say that this is nonsense. Nobody can stand up and say this Bingu is nonsense. I am the only one that would go and challenge Bingu,” said the vocal politician who was among pioneers who championed Malawi change from one party dictatorship to democracy.
“I am the only one that challenged Dr Bakili Muluzi. I am the only one that challenged Dr Kamuzu Banda and I marched in Blantyre to Sanjika,” he said.
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