A teacher in Mulanje district by the name Mike Suedi has appeared in court after being arrested for insulting and mocking the president of Republic of Malawi, Peter Muntharika.
Yesterday, Suedi appeared before First Grade Magistrate Kitty Nkhoma on two counts of conduct likely to cause breach of peace and insulting the president.
After he was found guilty in court, Magistrate court pointed out that it is common that people insult the President and said the teacher`s punishment would be a lesson to others.
“The court is aware that it is common in our communities to insult the President who has the right to be respected. And I am also surprised that as a teacher what do you teach your students?
She added: “The punishment will teach others that insulting the President is an offence.”
She then passed her ruling by ordering the teacher to 12 months in prison but the sentence was suspended in the way that the convict must serve 80 hours of (equivalent to two months) community service at Southern Region Police Headquarters.
However, some human rights groups in the country have condemned the sentence saying that every person in the country has freedom of expression.
They have also urged the police not to rush to arrest such people because some of them voice out mocking words to the president while they are not sober minded hence police should also be considering the place where that particular person voiced out the insult from.
Suedi hails from Khwalala village in the Area of Traditional Authority Juma in Mulanje district
