(MISA/IFEX) – The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Fahad Assani, has withdrawn a case against two journalists who were arrested in the middle of 1999 on charges of incitement and conduct likely to cause breach of peace. Since the charges were brought against the journalists – Harace Somanje and Mabvuto Banda, editor and deputy chief […]
(MISA/IFEX) – The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Fahad Assani, has withdrawn a case against two journalists who were arrested in the middle of 1999 on charges of incitement and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.
Since the charges were brought against the journalists – Harace Somanje and Mabvuto Banda, editor and deputy chief reporter, respectively, at the weekly “Malawi News” – their lawyer, Ralph Kasambara, has been asking the DPP when the case would be held but the DPP had been foot-dragging.
Sources from the DPP’s office were quoted as saying that Ministry of Justice lawyers were reluctant to take up the case since they felt the charges were flimsy and could not stand in court, but Justice Minister and Attorney General Peter Fachi had been insisting the two had a case.
Assistant Chief State Advocate Joseph Mwanyungwa has now said that the DPP had finally made a decision not to proceed with the case. He said the DPP had formally written to the two journalists on the decision. “We have also written to the courts informing them of the withdrawal of the case,” he said.
However, Mwanyungwa could not be drawn into disclosing the reasons why the DPP decided to withdraw the case, insisting that the DPP had the prerogative to decide on cases.
Reacting to the news, Somanje said he was relieved the whole thing was over but would seek legal advice on the torture the government subjected them to. For his part, Banda said the issue had already been referred to the office of the ombudsman, the arbitrator of rights violations in Malawi.
Media rights organisations have also welcomed the news, saying it confirmed what they had been advocating all along. “Obviously we welcome this development,” said Lance Ngulube, chairman of MISA-Malawi.
Ngulube said that what was needed now was to intensify the campaign to repeal outdated laws that were detrimental to freedom of expression in Malawi. He said MISA had already set up a task force to lobby for their repeal and, if the lobbying failed, to fight them in court.
Background Information
Somanje and Banda were arrested on 21 June 1999, after publishing a story, penned by Banda, in which opposition supporters were quoted as urging the army to take over the government. The article was a report about an 18 June demonstration in front of the Blantyre courthouse in support of a court action challenging the results of a recent general election. The crowd reportedly chanted “take over, take over” to the army and police when they arrived to break up the demonstration.
The journalists were held for two days before being granted bail.
On 8 July 1999, the High Court ruled that criminal investigations against the two journalists be suspended pending a judicial review by the High Court on whether to continue hearing the case or not. The legal counsel for the two journalists had argued at the time that the charges were in conflict with the Malawi Constitution’s freedom of expression provisions.
