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UDF deputy director of research Humphrey Mvula, who was arrested on Friday on allegations of fraud and corruption, was Saturday midnight taken to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Qech) in Blantyre where he is admitted to for suspected hypertension.
A police source said in an interview Mvula was referred to Qech after spending about three hours in a police cell at Blantyre police station.
“Mvula was kept in one of the officers’ rooms, room 7 at the station when he came on Friday. But around 9 PM on Saturday he was taken to a police cell where at about midnight he complained of high blood pressure. He was referred to the hospital the same night,” said the source.
Police public relations officer Willie Mwaluka in an interview said he is not aware that Mvula is in police hands and that he is in hospital “that is news to me. I heard of these developments from the radio and you journalists”.
In an interview yesterday in his private ward 2B room 3, Mvula who was in his blue slacks and a blue skipper, looking relaxed said he was feeling a bit okay. Mvula was flanked by his wife and children and well wishers thronged his ward at lunch hour.
Qech hospital director Ibrahim Idana in another interview said he did not have information on Mvula’s admission because he was out of office over the weekend but said he suspected Mvula has hypertension.
In the morning hours of yesterday about 14 UDF Young Democrats from Lilongwe who came to welcome their party chairman Bakili Muluzi from a private visit, visited their deputy director of research.
They threatened to deal with anyone harassing the UDF top brass. One Young Democrat called a police officer guarding Mvula and threatened to deal with him but NDA official Hophmally Makande intervened saying this “is not the way to deal with this situation”.
Later in an interview a Young Democrat who identified himself as Lameck Lajabu said he is worried with the situation, which he described as a witch hunt on the national executive committee members.
Lajabu said he believes Mvula has been arrested on political grounds and declared that Young Democrats will make sure that “this practice stops immediately”.
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