UTM Party secretary general Patricia Kaliati spent last night in the cooler, but had not been charged, according to her lawyer Khumbo Soko.
A statement signed by National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya released yesterday says she was arrested for “conspiracy to commit a felony”, there was no charge sheet.
In an interview, Soko, who met Kaliati at Lingadzi Police Station yesterday afternoon, said his client was not formally charged for him to form an opinion of what will happen next.
He said: “I can confirm that she has not been formally charged yet. So, the way the process works is that once an accused person has been arrested, they must be formally told of the reasons they have been arrested. But that process has not yet taken place.”
Asked when she is expected to be charged or appear before court, Soko said in the absence of the charge sheet, he could not tell.
However, a senior government official in the criminal justice system confided in The Nation that Kaliati’s arrest is connected with a suspected “treasonous plan”, which is the subject of an investigation.
“So, the arrest is not really for prosecution, but security [of] evidence. There are more people who will be arrested in connection [with this]. Depending on the progress of investigation, Kaliati may still be in custody for some time,” said the source.
When The Nation spoke to Kaliati, a former minister of Community Development and Social Welfare in President Lazarus Chakwera’s administration, said she heard that she is accused of conspiracy to commit a felony, but a statement had not yet been recorded by the time of our interview around 3pm yesterday.
Kaliati said she was summoned to police on Wednesday this week, but could not show up due to other commitments.
“So when I showed up today, [Thursday] that is when I was informed of the arrest. They said they wanted to hear my side of the story as they do their investigation,” she explained as she interacted with other senior party officials, including presidential aspirant Dalitso Kabambe who was the first one among UTM Party top brass to arrive at Lingadzi Police Station.
While other party members seemed sympathetic and shed tears, Kaliati was calm and joked about her situation.
“Osadandaula ndili bwino bwino [do not worry I am okay”, she was heard telling a female UTM supporter who broke down when she saw Kaliati behind a holding place for female suspects at the station.
It was a show of solidarity as other UTM Party presidential aspirants such as Newton Kambala and Mathews Mtumbuka rushed to visit her at the police station.
When Kabambe met Kambala, who had arrived with a group of UTM supporters, they hugged while Kabambe recited part of the party’s slogan: “Osaopa, Osaopa”.
A little drama occurred around 4pm when police stopped UTM supporters from displaying their placards.
A confrontation ensued when the youth started protesting, but it took UTM Party leadership to have the supporters comply with the order after which the youth moved to the party’s headquarters at Area 10.
At the headquarters, there were dances, singing and chanting of pro-Kaliati songs.
Kambala was the only notable top figure present at the party headquarters who also addressed the media.
He said the arrest does not make sense and it seems to be politically motivated.
Said Kambala: “It comes just a day before our NEC meeting – it says a lot. Honourable Kaliati, being another presidential candidate, you cannot rule out politics in this arrest. But this is really sad.”
According to him, the arrest has been orchestrated from outside the party. Kambala said the party will decide if the meeting will take place if the secretary general remains in custody.
Kambala’s statement about the meeting is slightly different from what the party’s publicist Felix Njawala told the media earlier at Lingadzi Police.
According to Njawala, the meeting will go on even in the absence of the secretary general based on their constitution.
