MISA demands immediate release of arrested Malawi journalist

MISA demands the immediate release of the Malawi journalist, Macmillan Mhone who was arrested on Monday 8 April 2024 over a story that he wrote in August 2023.

Mhone, who is now employed by the Nation Publications Limited, had written a story for Malawi24, which alleged that businessman Abdul Karim Batatawala was facing various corruption and fraud charges.

The story revealed that the courts had blocked Batatawala from dealing with the government, but the businessman had allegedly set up proxy companies to continue dealing with the authorities.

To add insult to injury, Mhone has reportedly been transferred from Lilingwe to Blantyre, where he is expected to be tried.

The journalist is expected to be charged for publishing news likely to cause fear or public alarm. He was arrested by the police’s Cyber Crimes Division.

Legal precedence in Southern Africa shows that criminalising the publication of news likely to cause fear violates constitutional provisions and does not not amount to a reasonable justification for limiting the freedom of expression.

In Zambia, in 2014, the courts struck down Section 67 of the country’s Penal Code, prohibiting the publication of false information likely to cause public fear, violating the Constitution as it did not amount to a reasonable justification limiting freedom of expression.

In 1999, a Zimbabwean court ruled that criminalising the publication of news likely to cause fear exerts an unacceptable “chilling effect” on freedom of expression, since people will tend to steer clear of the potential zone of application to avoid censure.