(MISA/IFEX) – On 9 May 2006, the Lilongwe Magistrate Court granted bail to Robert Jamieson, owner of the “Chronicle” newspaper, and his two reporters, who were arrested on 8 May on charges of criminal libel. Jamieson was arrested alongside his editor Dickson Kashoti and reporter Arnold Mlelemba; all are accused of defaming Malawi’s Attorney General, […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On 9 May 2006, the Lilongwe Magistrate Court granted bail to Robert Jamieson, owner of the “Chronicle” newspaper, and his two reporters, who were arrested on 8 May on charges of criminal libel.
Jamieson was arrested alongside his editor Dickson Kashoti and reporter Arnold Mlelemba; all are accused of defaming Malawi’s Attorney General, Ralph Kasambara.
The Court observed that the case is a misdemeanor whose penalty is a fine and that the accused are locatable.
The Court ordered Jamieson and his two co-accused to pay a cash bond of K5,000 (US$39) each. Each of the accused had to provide one non-cash surety of K25,000 (US$189), report to police every fortnight and surrender their passports.
BACKGROUND:
Police in Lilongwe on 8 May 2006 arrested Jamieson, his editor and a reporter for publishing an article that implicated Attorney-General Ralph Kasambara and Director for the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi – also known as the National Media Institute of Southern Africa (Namisa) – Charles Simango in a stolen computer deal.
