Police arrest UTM vocal social media activist ‘Abiti Manice’: Accused of insulting Malawi President
Malawi police in Lilongwe has arrested vocal social media activist, Manice Hale a naturalized American citizen of Malawian dissent – known on Facebook as Manice Abiti William Dawood – of United Transformation Movement (UTM) at the Kamuzu International Airport as she was about to board her flight back to her base in United States .
She is being accused of falsifying information and insulting the President.
Police were searching her digital devices for information related to UTM.
“She objected to her devices being searched without a warrant but they told her that they do not care about laws as they have instructions from the corridors of power to implement.
“You can follow your laws if you get into government next year (za malamulo zanuzo midzapanga nokha ngati mudzalowe m’boma,” said the arresting officer.
Manice, a nurse, came to prominence after she told TImes TV last week that she left DPP and joined UTM after seeing that President Peter Mutharika who is her uncle is failing to implement the very things he promised and to do when she and others campaigned for him.
She is being accused of insulting the President through Facebook.
A few weeks ago Mutharika threatened that he will arrest anyone who talks against him, citing an earlier UTM rally where his sister in-law former first lady Callista Mutharika called him a Mtchona, meaning a person who has spent several years away from home.
The Presudent said he is ready to use Section 4 of the Protected Flag, Emblem and Names Act as Malawi laws prevent anyone from insulting the President.
Section 4 of the Protected Flag, Emblem and Names Act states that any person who does any act or utters any words or publishes or utters any writing calculated to or liable to insult, ridicule or to show disrespect to or with reference to the President, the National Flag, the Armorial Ensigns, the Public Seal, or any protected emblem or protected likeness, shall be liable to a fine of K250 000 and to imprisonment for two years.
“Manice Hale – known on Facebook as Manice Abiti William Dawood … is being accused of insulting the President through Facebook.”
Can NT tell us where exactly on the lady’s FB page we will find the alleged insult(s), or tell us what it (they) were?
This is an archaic law and has to be amended or scrapped completely. The president will have to lock up 65% of the Malawi population. There are a significant number of critics out there more vocal than Manice. come on Mr president, you can rise above petty politics. I thought heads of state have thick skins. the ex president of RSA, Zuma, had gone through personal attacks and name calling for years with none of the critics arrested. This is democracy and therefore free speech rules.
DzukaniAmalawi what kind of a creature are you? Buddy until then koma pano lamulo liyenera kugwira ntchito. I saw you are talking about zuma being insulted and noone was arrested, yeah maybe noone was arrested but a lot of them were murdered by the zulu tribe themselves. A lot of unsolved cases of mysterious murders. Ndipo ife alhomwe tikanakhala oyipa mitima like angoni, atumbuka omwe ali mazulu akuno kumalawi, bwezi titathothola anthu ambiri omwe mukutinyozanu. Mukutukwana alhomwe tonse chikhalirecho ena a ife sitinadyepo ndalama za boma, timadzilimbikila ndi kumagwiira ntchito tokha kuti mabanja athu achite bwini ndipo tikuyesetsa mbali yathu.
SH…HOLE GOVERMENT, SH…HOLE POLICE !!! THEY ARE AFRAID OF ANYTHING INCLUDING THE WIND ___GOD HAVE MERCY.
She gave wrong information and has two passports (USA and Malawi) with different names. When you live in a grass house DON’T throw stones. Mkwidzingeni ameneyo.
Amangidwe basi
Moral panic Theory from agogo
anayenera kumangidwa kumene, osatinso lero ayi. In fact achedwa kumumanga. Which culture can you insult a president and your uncle in public like that. She deserves more than just an arrest. As learned as she is, a professional, she has no morals, ethics, whatsoever. She is a big disappointment and a shame to our culture
Obviously a stupid culture, arresting people because they don’t respect another person???? Get a life!
Actually you should have been asking yourselves questions why is it that the President’s relatives are turning against their own when they should have been supporting him? First it was Callista and Bingu’s Children. When Peter realized that this was going to be embarrassing he decided to post Bingu’s daughter to an embassy. Now it is his niece turning against him. Peter has only been helping abale ake a Getrusde and has forsaken his own blood and fresh. Munthuyi saziwa kukhala ndi anthu. Ndi wamtima wachabechabe. Abale ake onsewa akumutembenukira sangakhale oyipa okhaokha. Just imagine he goes on to arrest his niece just because she has decided to support another party. Ameneyo ndi munthu? Bwanji osamuyitana ku nyumba yachifumu ndikukhala naye pansi kumvwetsesa vuto lake malo momaziyalutsa kumanga abale ake omwe. Callista was right. This man cannot reason anymore. It is people around him (including his wife) that are pulling the shots.
Munthu wankulu akamafa pamudzi,amphaka nkhunda zimathawapo,ap chabwino palibe
thats exactry what was happening in zimbabwe when mugabe wanted to silence his opponets
Malawi police stinks
When will our police stop being idiots
When will the police arrest those who were involved in K145million
When will the police find those who killed Chasowa
When will the police arrest terrorist who set fire to two UTM vehicles?
Why have the police not arrested Calista for calling president Mchona?
Why can’t the police arrest a man who smuggled the body of his dead brother to RSA and called it Daniel Phiri
stupid government. what kind of politics??/????/?/old politics from old people. come 2019 you are gone. GOD CAN BRING A CHANGE EVEN TODAY
Ilo ndiye tsoka. Kumanga niece wanu a APM. Amake akulu a Ethel Mutharika alikumanda. Themberero ilo. Simumaliza term yanu NDITHU! Osamasewera ndi mizimu!
Don’t worry as for me praying for sudden death will be the answer to this stupid behaviour. God is still on the throne watching. … you will go. kunjenjemela dpp simunati
What kind of god do you worship Limango? A god who kills people because you in particular are not happy with? please ingosiyani kupemphera.
Don’t you know that God kills people everyday. Some of them even after praying that God save me, be he looks away
Kodi nde kuti Peter Mutharika ndi Pumbwa? ndikudabwa kaya chifukwa chomwe muzimayi uyu amumangila? chifukwa iye amangonena pa facebook pache za apumbwa akuba ndalama, koma sadatchule dzina lamunthu ayi!
half tonne
Surely we have a stupi president in the state house. Arresting someone for expressing their opinion? That is dull. Mr president, you are a toothless fool.
History is about rise and fall of empires. But behind every rise and fall there is underlying causes. So watch out.
Musanjeni ndi 1 tonne nkazi was mwano ndiponso wombwambwana.
hahaha laughable dpp you can give your last kicks its democracy at work and i dont think you will manage to arrest all with opoosing views.You are jst making our team popular and thumbs up police but i dont think she will stay long in police custody
Why arresting a very beatiful lady like that one . A police muli ndi nkhaza zedi.You are living 1960s in 2018.
Very interesting if the niece of the president is arrest what more about others. This govt. eehh
what kind of mannered human being will despise/disrespect his uncle?due to politics? Shame! running successful government depends on every citizen not just the president. What have u done? People who focuses on negativity operates below the line. No doubt there’s so many of them in Malawi= poorest country in the world.
Respect is earned, Pumbwayu has lost all respect, and now he is arresting people? Shame on him!
Ndiye upumbwawo umenewo. Zomangana just for the expression of opinion?
ambwiye mwamanga mzukulu wanu ambwiye?
Do it at your own peril.The more you are arresting people the more you are damaging and tarnishing your name.We said it that this man is a dictator now this what you see.By voting because he is from Southern.Tgis man APM is killing our hard fought multiparty and democracy we attain it.
If she has committed a crime, she deserves the arrest
THIS STRATEGY OF ARRESTS AND INTIMIDATION WILL ONLY STRENGTHEN UTM . THEY TRIED IT WITH MCP BUT FAILED .LET DPP AND APM GO TO VOTERS AND SELL THEIR DEVELOPMENT POLICIES JUST AS SKC IS DOING. THE LAW USED IN THIS CASE IS IRRELEVANT AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL. APM AS A CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYER SHUD BE THE FIRST TO KNOW THIS.
If this arrest will strengthen UTM, isn’t this a good thing to you then? So, why are you worried now?
Fuck you man, what strength are you talking about? And if you are saying they tried with MCP, what strength MCP had gained? MCP is a one or two grouping party, look where they are holding their campaign rallies, Lilongwe and few more districts in the south, Nsanje, Chikwawa and blantyere. Have you ever heard mcp in areas of districts like Phalombe, Chirazulo or Machinga? Look at DPP, goes everywhere in Malawi. So you Mr Manga and that shithole LEGO just keep your mamina brain to yourselves. Uchitsiru wake umenewo muzaliranso kuti mwaberedwa, mzanu chilima ndiye wayamba kale kulira chisankho chisanachitike. Does he think angasinthe zofuna za anthu ndi ma point ake opepera omwe a mcp anawayankhula kale?
Because people from the districts you have mentioned are not clever and you know that.
The Dpp wl just tarnish it’s image more by arresting people on political ground. U wl just make the opposition more popular
They don’t know about the sympathy or victim vote.
And who gives a fuck if DPP tarnishes its image? You? Hahahaha, why are you worried as if you sympathise with DPP? Wont tarnishing its image give your political grouping an upper hand? Philosophically you are just telling DPP that this is a right direction.
That’s your own opinion and i don’t give a shit about it. Face the music. welcome to real politics you wannabees
kicks of a dying horse …. it really kicks hard indeed,,,, Thank you for campaigning for UTM and making us much popular