UPDATE: A Flicker of Freedom's Light Shines on Malawi

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)Heeding the call from President Joyce Banda to eliminate repressive laws, the Malawi Parliament this week repealed Section 46 of the Penal Code, the Web site Allafrica.com reported.

Section 46 was amended in November 2010, during the oppressive regime of former president Bingu wa Mutharika (see "TUOL" post 2/8/11). It empowered the minister of information and civic education  to prohibit the publication of, or importation of any publication he believed "would be contrary to the public interest." 

Human rights advocates and Malawi journalists were among those who haled the action by the 43rd Session of Parliament.

Oppressive Malawi Media Law Worries Journos

Image via WikipediaThe increasingly oppressive government of Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika, AfricaNews.com reports, includes a  recent crackdown on journalists.

Section 46 of Malawi's Penal Code empowers the minister of information and civic education  to prohibit the publication of, or importation of a publication he believes "would be contrary to the public interest." The draconian measure is to blame for the recent arrest of award-winning journalist Kondwani Kamiyala, who allegedly photographed authorities purportedly engaged in the brutal beating of an individual at a musical event.

The U.S. and Germany are among nations that have been critical of the harsh media law. The International Press Institute has also condemned the Malawi government's passage of the publication ban.  "TUOL" has low expectations regarding the Mutharika regime ever since the government, as reported by The Daily Mail January 28, criminalized flatulence, vowing to punish persistent offenders.

Each law in its own way prevents Malawians from airing their grievances.