Atupele Muluzi whisked to hospital

A presidential aspirant for the opposition UDF, Austin Atupele Muluzi,  arrested on Tuesday by Police has been whisked away from Maula Prison to a private clinic in Lilongwe after suffering high blood pressure.

The 34-year-old son of Malawi’s former president Bakili Muluzi was moved from Lumbadzi Police station early in the morning to Maula Prison but had a health scare.

Prison authorities confirmed that Atupele has been taken to Dr  Kayombo’s private clinic after he had a “high blood pressure.”
His sister Esmie said the lawmaker has always had a problem of blood  pressure since he was at school.

Atupele: Hospitalised

Deputy spokesman of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Ken Ndanga,  said Atupele’s condition was “stable” but that he needed “close  monitoring” by doctors.

Meanwhile, several leading political leaders visited Atupele to give  him solidarity. They included state vice president Joyce Banda.

Atupele was arrested after his supporters torched a police station  ver the weekend when security forces fired tear gas to stop him form addressing crowds. He has accused police of “provoking the situation” by firing teargas at his supporters.

Atupele rallies have drawn large crowds since he announced his plan to run for presidency in 2014.  Mutharika’s second term in office has seen growing discontent with his  rule, with critics accusing him of trampling on democratic freedoms and mismanaging the economy.

Political tensions erupted into rioting in July, when police shot 19 people dead.

George Soros’s Open Society Initiative has warned that Malawi is now  heading back down the road of dictatorship. In July 2011, 19 people were killed when police in Lilongwe and Mzuzu (capital of the northern region) opened fire on demonstrators protesting against the worsening economic problems

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