Malawian man convicted, fined for insulting President Joyce Banda
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A court in the northern Malawi city of Mzuzu Wednesday convicts a 37-year-old man for calling President Joyce Banda "stupid" and a "failure."
Japhet Chirwa, who was arrested on Tuesday, pleaded guilty to the single charge of "conduct likely to cause breach of the peace," a misdemeanor.
Police prosecutor Kingston Mwalughali told the court that Chirwa, frustrated that the Department of Immigration had rejected his request for a new passport, threw a tantrum and blamed the government's bureaucratic red tape on the "stupidity and failure" of President Banda, the southern African country's first female president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mzuzu Magistrate Lillian Munthali found Chirwa guilty of the offence and fined him 15, 000 Malawi kwacha (about $44) or serve nine months in jail. Chirwa paid the fine.