Malawi: International dignitaries hail journalist acquittal

The story alleged that two women complained that they had been hired to bathe a dead body which had some of its body parts missing in the suburb of Area 23 in the capital Lilongwe. And when they reported the matter to police, the police officers snatched the money the culprit who told them to wash the body had given them, before forcing them to direct them to the place.

Matter remained unresolved

The man was arrested and released under dubious circumstances while the matter ended as if it never happened. In trying to augment their claims that this was a mere fabrication the police arrested Kamlomo on 7 July 2009.

The police had initially charged Kamlomo of giving false information to a public officer, but they later changed the charge and accused him of publishing false information likely to cause public unrest.

In a ruling issued on 2 December 2010, Senior Resident Magistrate Vikochie Ndovi said the court found Kamlomo with no case to answer.

On 28 October, the state, led by Lilongwe Police Head of Prosecutions Levison Mangani, brought three witnesses against Kamlomo.

A statement from the Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Malawi) says the three witnesses, two police officers and a chairperson of Lilongwe Community Policing, testified that they had received queries and complaints from members of the public following Kamlomo's broadcast, which the witnesses described as "alarming".

Balanced story

The editor's lawyer, Ian Malera, defended his client by arguing that the reporter's story was balanced since all sides were heard. That day, the court also replayed the news story.

The case has been ongoing since July 2009.

After the ruling, Malera told MISA Malawi that "this was a victory for media freedom in Malawi. The court agreed with our arguments that my client's story was balanced since all sides were heard. The court further agreed that if the public believes and has trust in the police, who said they had investigated the matter and that the story was untrue, then there was no cause for alarm in the story."

Against the constitution

Malera, who has represented various cases involving the media in the country, further said the court also agreed that the state's grounds in the case were against Section 36 of the Constitution, which states that "the press shall have the right to report and publish freely, within Malawi and abroad, and to be accorded the fullest possible facilities for access to public information".

Kamlomo told Bizcommunity that he has been overwhelmed by messages pouring out from the international community.

"Nevertheless, I think this need not get to a journalist's head as there is just too much work to be done," he said.