Malawi’s director of public prosecutions, Fahad Assani, has dropped a case against two ‘Malawi News’ journalists held last year on charges of inciting an army mutiny and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said the paper’s editor Harace Somanje and deputy chief reporter Mabvuto Banda were held for two days last June after publishing a story in which opposition supporters were quoted as asking the army to take over the government after last year’s elections which they believed had been rigged. MISA said prosecutors had been reluctant to take up the case because they felt the charges were flimsy and would not stand in court.
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