The Lilongwe Principal Resident Magistrate Court has released on bail UTM Secretary General Patricia Kaliati, who has been charged with conspiracy to kill President Lazarus Chakwera, along with two accomplices. She spent the last four days in police custody.

Principal Resident Magistrate Rodrick Michongwe freed Kaliati on Monday afternoon, despite the police requesting that she remain in custody for a further seven days to conclude investigations.

According to Michongwe, law enforcers erred in arresting Kaliati before concluding their investigations.

Among other conditions, Kaliati has been asked to pay a K1 million non-cash surety and K500,000 cash surety and report to Area 30 police headquarters every fortnight on Mondays.

The other two accomplices, identified in court records as Joseph Odala and Frank Daniel, are at large.

Kaliati, 57, has maintained her innocence.

Scores of UTM followers gathered outside the court in the capital, singing anti-government songs before and after the hearing.

Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya says the police will continue investigations into the matter.

Kaliati was vocal in pulling the UTM out of the ruling Tonse alliance in July this year following the death of party leader Saulos Chilima, who was the state vice-president. Kaliati is among those vying to take over from Chilima as party leader at a convention scheduled for November 17.

Meanwhile, one of the senior members of the UTM, Dalitso Kabambe, has described the arrest of the party’s secretary general as politically motivated.

Nonetheless, Kabambe says the party trusts the independence of the judiciary in upholding the rights of citizens and hopes Kaliati will face a fair trial.

Addressing the media in Lilongwe following Kaliati's release on bail, Kabambe said the police’s failed plea to continue keeping her in custody shows she was arrested without proper investigations.

Reacting to the allegations, government spokesperson Moses Kunkuyu has urged people to remain calm and let the courts exercise their independence by allowing the law to take its course on the matter at hand.