Man Arrested for Spreading Fake News on Facebook

Police in Lilongwe are keeping in custody a 39-year-old man, Joseph Mathews, for allegedly publishing a false story on Facebook claiming that member of parliament (MP) for Kasungu West, Honourable Jailosi Bonongwe had diverted two trucks of relief maize meant for his constituents.

On February 17, 2022, Mathews wrote on his Facebook page “Friends Connect Malawi“, said that “the MP is in hot water after he diverted two trucks of relief maize to his house and sold them to vendors in private”.

The publication also claimed that Traditional leaders and community members in the constituency were to hold vigils at the lawmaker’s house to force him to return the relief maize.

When the suspect was approached several times by the concerned individual through a telephone call to retract or take down the story from the Facebook page, the suspect demanded Twenty thousand kwacha (MK20,000) as the only condition to retract the publication from the social media platform.

When the complaint was brought to Lilongwe Police, the station’s cybercrime detectives launched a manhunt which led to the arrest of Mathews in Blantyre on February 28, 2022.

Joseph Mathews, who hails from Jason Village, Traditional Authority Sabwe in Thyolo, will appear in court soon to answer a case of cyberstalking which contravenes section 88 of the Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act.

Meanwhile, Lilongwe Police wish to advise people to always be responsible when posting or publishing stories of other people on social media to avoid being caught up on the wrong side of the law.