Malawi, 2001 — dissident coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 26 March 2001, corresponding to the March 2001 coup plot against President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi. In mid-March 2001 the authorities arrested Sudi Adaki Sulaimana and several others, charging four of them, Sulaimana, Colvin Kaumira, Moses Bwanali, and Nelson Psyontha, with treason and theft of military equipment for allegedly planning to storm Sanjika Palace, the presidential residence in Blantyre, and seize the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation radio and Television Malawi to announce that they had deposed Muluzi. Police said they had confiscated maps depicting battle plans to seize the broadcast studios, and prosecutors later presented video and audio tapes of the group addressing one another with the title of president and military ranks.
Sulaimana had been linked to a 1993 coup plot against the former dictator Hastings Kamuzu Banda and pardoned by Muluzi in 1994. It was the first treason case since Malawi's transition to multiparty democracy in 1994. The 26 March 2001 coding sits at the arrests and charging of the plotters in late March 2001.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
55303262001
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Muluzi's government foiled the plot and prosecuted the accused for treason.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
BBC Monitoring Africa - Political
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →