Malawi ex-president in ‘bad shape’
Malawi former president Dr Bakili Muluzi who was due to travel to the United Kingdom for a medical check-up last week but failed when the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) seized his passport and air tickets, effectively stopping him from any travel, is reported to be “in bad shape.”
Family members and officials of the UDF party which Muluzi heads have described the present health status of the former president as “serious”.
Muluzi’s personal physician could not comment on the matter.
However a top aide to Muluzi, Humphrey Mvula said there is cause for concern on the life of the former president who ruled Malawi from 1994 to 2004.
“As far as we are concerned, we are more concerned in the health and life of Dr Muluzi,” Mvula told VOA.
“The illness that he is suffering from is quite critical because I think it involves his back, his discs and he has had several operations on it. This was after he sustained during the 2004 political campaign.
“So what he has in his back-side is that are plates that are holding together his spine. I think it’s long overdue now he should have gone for an operation. It has been delayed,” said Mvula.
He said the state’s move to block him from going overseas for treatment has worsened his condition.
“He now has serious difficulties in walking. He cannot sit in one place for a long time. He had initial schedules [for operation] last week and what we are meant to understand is that subject to what the doctor was going to prescribe, he was either going in for a straight operation or something was going to happen to actually correct the current malfunctioning spine,” said Mvula.
The UDF director of research said Muluzi’s request to travel to UK to seek medical treatment was presented to court through two applications before Justice Maclean Kamwambe and Justice Healy Potani, pointing out that ACB did not object to the request.
“We are more interested in the life and health of the former president. I think it is also in the interest of those that are prosecuting him for the case that the person should be healthy [to stand trial] and that the person should be alive.
“We are saddened and indeed we are in an extreme sense very saddened and we feel sorry about it. We cannot say much because the matters are subjudice at the present moment,” said Mvula.
ACB applied to the high court on Thursday to seize former president Bakili Muluzi’s property and asked for a $11-million bond if he were allowed to leave for a medical check-up in London.
Mvula said Muluzi is not refusing to execute the bond but suspected the state obtained the order not in good faith.
“The area of subsequent legal action of requiring a bond and withdrawing a passport were obtained ex parte [by a judge, without all parties present]. I’m sure if good intentions were demonstrated through the defense and the prosecution sitting down and talking about it, probably the lawyers or anybody else would have looked at it differently,” he said.
Mvula said Muluzi cannot run away from prosecution and indeed persecution.
“He has never wanted to run away and he will not run away. He is not a small person like some of us may be,” he said.
Mvula said it as a former president, Muluzi when he leaves Malawi he is always accompanied by government security detail.
“Even if he had wanted to run away he would not hide,” he said describing the move by the state as a “shocker out of the blues”.
“As a party, we have said that look, if indeed there was an anonymous caller, it should have been treated with a lot of contempt because that anonymous caller should have been so ignorant of what happens when a former president is traveling,” Mvula said.
ACB boss Alex Nampota explained that Muluzi’s properties would not be forfeited if he returns after his medical trip.
“If he comes back, then there is no problem. But in the event he doesn’t come back, all the properties which are a subject of a seizure warrant which we obtained get vested in the government and get sold to make good the $13 million dollars,” said Nampota.
Muluzi is facing graft charges of K1.4 billion which he has been investigated from 2006 but he denies any wrong doing.
Tagged with: ACB, Bingu, Muluzi, Mvula, Nampota, UDF
Please please send him soon for treatment. This is a very serious issue and whoever is in control of this will face serious retribution. Life is more important than money or material things.
Please please once again I say please please send him for treatment. If you will not listen to my advice one day you will remember my words
I would like to call on all politicians in Malawi to respect ex-presidents. It is immature politics to hassle or demean our former leaders. Despite our differences in policies an ex-president is a national asset that must be respected and not harassed in any way.
Secondly, the govt must stop property grabbing from owners. I know there might be some rumours about how these properties were acquired in which case let the law take its course but wily nilly government harassment of former leaders must stop. Let our leaders retire in peace. Despite their perceived weaknesses, former presidents deserve better full stop! We need property rights that no government can grab land from citizens (including former presidents) unless they have broken the law not based on hearsay.
These unique people have something good about them otherwise people do not just ‘fall to the top’ of govt, party or community. Muluzi has served Malawi and he deserves all our respect from the govt to the public, whatever our policy differences!
I sympathize with him. But I also know a lot of sick Malawians who have no chance of going abroad for a medical check up. Why didn’t Muluzi build at least ONE state of the art medical institution in Malawi where operations sch as slipped disc, heart surgery, kidney transplants, can be carried out? I appeal to Mose wa Lero to consider doing this. The medical centre should be a paying one, but when a poor Malawian has been referred there from a Government Hospital for a complicated operation, all costs should be covered by the Government. Do you remember in years gone by, Ministry of Health used to buy air tickets and pay for medical costs when a patient is referred to a foreign hospital to receive specialist treatment.
All Moyale soldiers should go to a UN peace mission!!!!
choooooooonde
inu alomwenu asiyeni atchewanthuwo apite kuchipatala
mutha kudza tenga mbuzi zaine kuno
nazo mudzilande poonjezera zithu zakezo
Nkhani si ya Alomwe. Apa pafunika kuti BM apite kuchipatala msanga. Ino sinthawi yolimbana ndi Bakili kapena JZU. Anthuwa ananyenyedwa kale pa 19. Inu aboma ziyendesani boma. Tkudikira bajeti madzul ano.
more hummer till the last nail.
HEY U FOX LET THE EX PRESIDENT SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION. U KNOW WE ARE WATCHING THIS WITH AN EAGLE EYE. TIME WILL TELL WHAT IF THIS WILL HAPPEN TO U. THINK WISE
U know sometimes we have to forgive.Just forgive the ex president.we all make mistakes and who are we to judge he?Send him for his medical attention Please, if he dies it will be on ur conciounce, who ever is in control.
Sorry for that AMpando komano chachikulu chomwe ndachiwona ndichakuti zonse zili mmanja mwawo mw a Mpandowo,akasayina bondiyo apita ku chipatala koma ngati sasayina nde timvadi zambiri.Even ifeyo tikupanga suspect kuti ngati sakakhalako kumeneko akukaniranji kusayina?chilungamo akuchidziwa Mpandoyo kungoti akufuna kuti anthu adziti boma likumuzunza pamene zonse zili mmanja mwake.Ngati sasayina asapite ku UK ko basi apite ku Queens kapena ku Machinga district hospital.A ACB osaimva yoti apite osasayina bondiyo.VIVA MALAWI!!
Thats a good point. The key are in his hands.
please let him go chifukwa mawa you will be responsible for any cause.Let us give him respect,anakulakwilani chiyani a Malawi?mukanakhala inu maululu umenewu mukanakhalabe because he hasbeen waiting for a long time
Chisoni abale. I feel so sorry for Dr Bakili Muluzi, who has suffered a lot for this country. Who led the struggle for multiparty politics when some scared chaps were hiding in Zimbabwe. In whose leadership democracy bloosomed ans we saw infrasructure development. We saw the coming of new age telecommunication. We saw a mushrooming of radio stations and the strengthening of the private sector.People were now free in Malawi. After doing his best, he thought, well now Malawi needs to work on its economy. Let me bring in Bingu who worked for COMESA. Bingu left UDF, Muluzi, like any other person would have got angry. So he tried to challenge Bingu. But when Bingu was leading in the polls, there was an air of uncertainity with fractions of the people thinking of rioting. But Muluzi’s voice stopped all that.He did it for the love of his country. bUT TODAY HE IS BEING PERSECUTED BY THE VERY SAME PEOPLE HE SAVED. REMINDS ME OF THE SUFFERING OF CHRIST JESUS.
charity …you must very *&%^&$ do you ever use your brain ….that white staff in your head …1.7 billion ndi yambili ..mugwireni pakhosi tchayayo..musamusekelere ..this is our time ..thry had theirs..NO MERCY
Nanenso ndine nunthu, iweyo ndi galu yeni yeni. You have no substance in your comments.Mwina galu tailakwila, ili ndi nzeru. Iweyo ndi mbuzi yeni yeni