Timothy Mtambo facing charges after calling for peaceful protest
On 1 October 2020, Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate Violet Chipawo withdrew the case against Timothy Mtambo, who had been charged with “inciting another to contravene the law” under section 124(1b) of the Penal Code.
On 12 March 2020, Timothy Mtambo was released on bail after spending two days in the custody of the Lilongwe police. He is charged with inciting another to contravene the law under section 124(1b) of the Penal Code, in connection with his calls for a peaceful electoral justice march.
Timothy Mtambo is the chairperson of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), a Malawi organisation that works to defend human rights. He is also the executive director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) as well as the vice chairperson of Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network. He organises peaceful demonstrations across Malawi advocating for the preservation of civil and political rights in Malawi. He has focused on calling for the resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission Chairperson Jane Ansah over alleged mismanagement of national elections held on 21 May 2019.
On 1 October 2020, Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate Violet Chipawo withdrew the case against Timothy Mtambo, who had been charged with “inciting another to contravene the law” under section 124(1b) of the Penal Code.
On 10 March 2020, after the arrest of human rights defenders Gift Trapence and Macdonald Sembereka on 8 March 2020, Timothy Mtambo surrendered himself to Lilongwe police station where he was held for two days. He was released on bail on 12 March, along with Gift Trapence and Macdonald Sembereka.
Timothy Mtambo believes the charges brought against him were in connection with a press conference organised on 6 March 2020 by the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), of which he was the chairperson before he entered politics in April 2020. The press conference encouraged Malawian citizens to participate in a peaceful electoral justice march to the State House scheduled on 25 March 2020. On 8 March 2020, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led by former Malawian President Peter Mutharika held a political rally in Blantyre. Senior DPP officials and cabinet ministers publicly accused the HRDC of inciting violence and creating anarchy. They asserted that the state security apparatus would be deployed to silence the Coalition in the context of the citizen’s electoral justice march scheduled for 25 March 2020.
On 12 March 2020, Timothy Mtambo was released on bail after spending two days in the custody of the Lilongwe police. He is charged with inciting another to contravene the law under section 124(1b) of the Penal Code, in connection with his calls for a peaceful electoral justice march.
On 6 March 2020, during a press conference organised by the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), Timothy Mtambo, along with human rights defenders Gift Trapence and Macdonald Sembereka, encouraged Malawian citizens to participate in a peaceful electoral justice march to the State House on 25 March 2020.
On 8 March 2020, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led by the Malawian President Peter Mutharika held a political rally in Blantyre. Senior DPP officials and cabinet ministers publicly accused the HRDC of inciting violence and creating anarchy. They asserted that the state security apparatus would be deployed to silence the Human Rights Defenders Coalition in the context of the citizen electoral justice march scheduled for 25 March 2020.
A few hours later, Gift Trapence and Macdonald Sembereka were arrested by the police in Lilongwe. On 10 March 2020, Timothy Mtambo surrendered himself to the Lilongwe police station. He was held there for two days and was released on bail on 12 March, along with Gift Trapence and Macdonald Sembereka. All three human rights defenders are charged with inciting another to contravene the law under section 124(1b) of the Penal Code.
