- American President George W. Bush Junior phoned his Malawian counterpart President Bakili Muluzi on the day that the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) personnel single-handedly arrested five al-Qaeda suspects in Malawi's administrative capital, Blantyre, on allegations that they were funnelling money to Osama bin Laden's terror group using their Islamic charity organisations based in Malawi.
According to sources, the two presidents spent over seven minutes on the phone discussing how Malawi should not be used as a base for the terrorist group.
'The Chronicle' learnt that on the day the arrests were made Muluzi received a call from the White House and he reassured the American president of Malawi¹s commitment to fight terrorism.
- The President assured Bush that Malawi would continue to help in the fight against terrorism, said the source. "That is the reason why Muluzi agreed to have the five suspected al-Qaeda suspects flown out of the country despite the case being in the High Court.
He explained that despite pressure being brought from other Muslim leaders in and outside Malawi, who demanded that Muluzi defy the US order, the president thought it wise to succumb to the American pressure rather than the Muslim fraternity.
When contacted for comment Press Secretary for the President Willie Zingani said that he could not take any question from 'The Chronicle' on the phone. "I am afraid that you may misquote me on this sensitive issue," Zingani said.
An official at the American Embassy talking to 'The Chronicle' said that it could be true that the US president had indeed phoned Muluzi but the Embassy in Lilongwe was not informed of it. "It could be true that Bush phoned Muluzi, and if so, we were not kept in the picture. We are not always informed of what the American President does," said the official.
Meanwhile 'The Chronicle' has been informed that the five suspects are now at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where they are being interrogated. The five suspects are Fahad al Bahli, a Saudi National and Resident Director of the Registered Trustees of the Prince Sultan Ibn Aziz special committee on Relief, Ibrahim Habaci, a Turkish national and Executive Director of Bedir International High School and another Turkish national Arif Ulusam, owner of Instanbul Take Away Restaurant in Blantyre.
Others are Mahmud Sardar Issa, a Sudanese who is the Director of the Islamic Zakaat Fund and a Kenyan national Khalifa Abdi Hassan, a teacher at the Blantyre Islamic Mission at Chadzunda.
'The Chronicle' was informed that the CIA raided the homes of the five suspects at 2 am on Saturday, shackled and blind folded them and then whisked them away to the Blantyre Police Station for questioning.
Meanwhile 'The Chronicle' has been reliably informed that the Tanzanian aeroplane which went missing two weeks ago is alleged to have been forced to land in Malawi by the CIA and is being kept at an undisclosed location in the country.
Extra US security officials are on the ground in several African countries ahead of President Bush's first trip to the continent early in July, when security is likely to feature high on the agenda. Africa is seen as an opportune breeding ground for anti-America militant Islamic groups including Osama bin Ladin's al-Qaeda.
The arrests of the five al-Qaeda operatives followed repeated warnings from US and British security officials of an imminent terrorist attack in East Africa. The US Embassy shut its doors last Friday citing a serious threat, but reopened for business on Wednesday.
Two years ago, Shyley Kondowe former boss of the now defunct Malawi Institute of Democratic and Economic Affairs (MIDEA) alleged, through a press statement that former US Secretary of State for African Affairs Herman Cohen accused the Malawi government of having given the bombers of the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, "safe passage and red carpet treatment."
Kondowe alleged that Cohen made the accusation during a phone in programme 'Straight Talk Africa' on a 'Voice of America TV' programme on 12 September 2001 in the aftermath of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.
However, government dismissed the allegations as baseless and declared that an arrest warrant for Kondowe will be issued and he would be brought to a court of law if ever he returns home to fully justify his act and explain his motives.
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