Chakwera signs 6 Bills into laws
President Lazarus Chakwera has signed into law six Bills which Parliament passed in the previous meetings, including the Protected Flag, Emblems and Names Act (Amendment) as part of decriminalising sedition-related offences.
The other five Bills are the Penal Code (Amendment), Electoral Commission Act (Amendment), Roads Authority as well as Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections and Fertiliser Bills.
The Penal Code amendments decriminalise sedition and other related offences, enhance the legal framework for terrorism, sexual offences against children and persons with mental disabilities as well as money laundering.
It also redefines a child as a person under the age of 18 from 16 years and that any male person who has sexual intercourse with a female child shall be liable to life imprisonment.
The Protected Flag, Emblems and Names amendment removes President’s name from the Protected Flag, Emblems and Names Act as part of the process to decriminalise sedition-related offences by amending Section 4 of the Act which penalises any act showing disrespect to the Protected Flag, Emblems and Names.
On the other hand the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Election Bill, effectively putting in place a comprehensive legal framework for the regulation of the three elections in the country.
The new electoral law has consolidated the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act and the Local Government Elections Act into one piece of legislation to improve accessibility and consistency of the legal framework governing the conduct of elections in Malawi.
The Fertiliser Bill empowers government to regulate fertiliser and put an end to skyrocketing of fertiliser prices but also protect farmers.
In an interview yesterday, Malawi Law Society president Patrick Mpaka welcomed President’s decision to assent to the six Bills.
He said the Bills are a step in the right direction in as far as the progressive legislative and policy efforts are concerned.
“But it is at implementation level that the true intentions of government is best measured for there is no point developing and adopting good laws and policies and not follow them in practice,” said Mpaka.
Commenting on the amendment of the Penal Code and Protected Flag, Emblems and Names, Media Council of Malawi chairperson Wisdom Chimgwede echoed Mpaka’s sentiments that Chakwera decision to assent the said Bills is a “move in the right direction”.
“We have talked about this need for so long. We still have more laws to review, but that it has happened this time around, there is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
Media Institute for Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter chairperson Teresa Ndanga is on record as having said government deserved applause for taking heed of concerned voices, including the media, on the need to repeal sedition laws.
She said Misa Malawi engagements with various government offices, including the Attorney General and Ministry of Information have yielded results.
Since the dawn of democracy through a 1993 referendum, various groups have lobbied for the removal of sedition laws and others dubbed “bad laws”.
