Former Malawi President Bakili Muluzi was released on bail on Friday, six days after being detained on suspicion of involvement in a coup plot and placed under house arrest.
A High Court judge in the commercial capital Blantyre ordered Muluzi be released on bail of 200,000 kwacha ($1,500) and that he should report to police once a month.
Muluzi, the opposition United Democratic Front's candidate in the 2009 presidential election, has been held under house arrest since Sunday when he was taken into custody. Police have raided his home and interrogated him.
He was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a plot to overthrow the government.
Defence lawyers had asked the court to declare the arrest unlawful because the state failed to charge the former leader within the 48 hour rule.
Five members of Muluzi's UDF and three army generals were arrested last week on suspicion of being part of a plot to oust President Bingu wa Mutharika and put Muluzi into power. They have been released on bail.
The arrests have prompted protests by UDF supporters who have clashed with police. One person has been killed and scores arrested.
Muluzi remains popular in the impoverished southern African nation for ending the rule of long time strongman Hastings Kamuzu Banda in 1994 and paving the way for democracy. He held power until 2004 when he was replaced by wa Mutharika.
But the two have fallen out over the president's anti-corruption drive, which has targeted some UDF members, including Muluzi. Wa Mutharika quit the UDF to form the Democratic Progressive Party, taking with him many UDF MPs.
The opposition objected to the floor crossing and is trying to have the president impeached. It also is threatening to block passage of the country's budget.
Saturday, 31 May 2008
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I have never been a fan of Muluzi and I dont see myself becoming one in the future. To me he looks like the evil one, the usual suspect capable of doing anything. But the allegations of a coup plot and the nature of evidence in support of the said plot has all the hallmarks of dirty politics. It seems the Bingu's presidency has been fraught with illusionary stories ranging from alleged guosts at statehouse to Chilumpha's attempt on Bingu's life and then this coup plot. I just pray that one day I will wake -up to be told that all these stories were merely episodes of an explosive TV drama series.
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