By Faith Simbi
“During the evening meeting as asked by Hon. Kaliati, she introduced a new mission as she addressed us that Chilima was happy with the results. She, therefore, instructed me and Chinedu to eliminate President Dr. Chakwera. She went further to say that since Dr. Chilima was free of criminal cases, he could easily take over the presidency,” Mwale disclosed the startling plot.
Angella Chifundo Mwale, the prime witness in the case in which former cabinet minister Patricia Kaliati is accused of conspiring to kill President Lazarus Chakwera, left Malawi for Nigeria on March 31, 2024, alongside a Nigeria identified as Frank Daniel Chinedu to engage in a high-stakes spiritual transaction with God Papa, a renowned Nigerian ritualist.
God Papa is famous on the continent for his involvement in cult practices aimed at political elevation and emancipation.
The plan was to influence the ‘sangoma,’ to bestow spiritual favours on the late Vice President Saulos Chilima and thereafter kill Chakwera so that the former would inherit government.
This whole plot was called “a mission of favour, peace and restoration,” according to a court-sanctioned witness statement of Mwale which Malawi Focus has seen.
“The visa process started and Mr. Josephy Odala (another suspect who was introduced in our last edition) catered for all expenses of this visa process. All bank deposits with Standard Bank City Centre branch and embassy of Nigeria were made. When the visa was ready, Mr. Odala’s payment got stuck and in the end, the first visa expired,” narrates Mwale.
She told the court that during the processing of the first visa, they co-opted Chinedu, a Nigerian who was at that time living in Malawi, to assist them in the fast-tracking of their movement and communication in Nigeria.
According to the travel logistics, the agreement was that Mwale, Odala and Chinedu should borrow money elsewhere with an assurance from Kaliati to refund the money “following the results.”
At this point, the records show Chilima’s curiosity and interest had been aroused further in the mission as he wanted to have the results of the plot sooner so he could get spiritual favours before ascending to Presidency.
“Mr. Odala and I borrowed money from people and I used my motor vehicle registration number BY 6590 Mazda Demio, silver in colour, 2010 model and a house situated in area 51 in Lilongwe as collateral. We raised K15 million on 40 percent interest per month,” she explained.
Part of the money raised was used for an air ticket for her to go to Nigeria and come back and also for Chinedu to go to Nigeria, one way.
Mwale said they were initially planning to go to Nigeria alongside Odala but failed due to a “shortage of money. Odala failed to make it to Nigeria despite processing two visas which all expired in the process.
“On March 31, 2024, Frank [Chinedu] left for Nigeria. We reached Nigeria on April 1, 2024. We delayed starting our mission there because the one who was supposed to lead us to God Papa was out for his business in Ghana. He came back after a week and led us to God Papa,” said Mwale.
Upon reaching there, Mwale said God Papa welcomed them and immediately instructed them to call their bosses [Kaliati and Chilima].
But God Papa only managed to speak to Kaliati and Odala back home who indeed confirmed that the two, Mwale and Chinedu were duly sent by Kaliati with the blessings of Chilima.
“After confirmation, all went well. All the processes were either captured or pictured and sent to Kaliati who in turn was also sending to Chilima,” said Mwale.
Positive results yielded
While in Nigeria, God Papa assured the team that the results would come out positively within 21 days and true to his words, Chilima’s corruption case was discontinued and President Chakwera reinstated him and started delegating him state duties as Vice President, according to the court records.
Chilima’s charges were dropped by the state on May 7, 2024, after the state prosecutor filed a notice for the case to be discontinued. No reasons were given for the decision.
He was arrested in November 2022 on allegations that he accepted money in exchange for awarding government contracts. He denied the charges.
Kaliati pockets K200 million from SKC for ‘services rendered’
Court records show that upon being reinstated, Chilima was over the moon and could not believe the magic behind his freedom.
“The Vice President was happy. Dr. Chilima indeed paid Hon. Kaliati for the services rendered. It amounted to N100 million which is an equivalent of K200 million. We were instructed to go back to the ‘kiosk’ to collect the money but later we were told to hold for the evening meeting on another ‘important issue’ which Hon. Kaliati wanted to raise,” Mwale testified.
However, despite the order from Malawi through Kaliati that their mission in Nigeria should hold on to another pertinent issue, God Papa was not amused as he wanted his payment for the bestowment of spiritual favours on Chilima.
“During the evening meeting as asked by Hon. Kaliati, she introduced a new mission as she addressed us that Chilima was happy with the results. She therefore instructed me and Chinedu to eliminate President Dr. Chakwera. She went further to say that since Dr. Chilima was free of criminal cases, he could easily take over the presidency,” Mwale disclosed the chilling plot.