Malawi: Man granted bail after likening First Lady to cartoon

Tumpale Mwakibinga, a Malawian man who was arrested following the upload of a meme likening first Lady Gertrude Mutharika to cartoon character Rango, has been granted bail by the Blantyre First Grade Magistrate Court.

First Grade Magistrate Tsoka Banda, has granted bail on the following conditions:

1. Payment of a non-cash bond of $140

2. The accused shall not post anything on social media relating to madam Gertrude Mutharika

3. The accused is to report to Southern Region Police offices once a month.

4. The provision of one person as a surety

He has been charged with insulting the modesty of a woman, cyber violation and offensive communication but he denied all the charges.

State Prosecutors asked for seven more days for them to complete investigations but the defence argued successfully that all the alleged offences were bailable.

The trial is to be heard on 31 May 2019, at 10 am.