Lilongwe (AND) A journalist with the Business Day of Malawi, Maxwell Ng'ambi was this afternoon convicted for criminal libel, the first journalist to be convicted since the country gained its independence from Rhodesia in 1964.
The Lilongwe first grade magistrate court allowed Ng'ambi to pay an option of a $100 for criminal libel.
The journalist has since paid the fine as admission of guilt.
Passing a 40 paged jugdement, Senior Resident Magistrate, Mzondi Mvula, said the offence was a misdimenour which needed a sentence of two years or a fine.
The magistrate said according to Section 200 of the penal code the court had a mandate whether to fine or give a custodial sentence to the offender.
The presiding magistrate however considered that Ng'ambi was the first offender arguing that it was proper for the court to consider giving him an option of a fine.
The journalist appeared in court for criminal libel charges for allegedly publishing a story in December 2005 based on an audit report which implicated the health minister for allegedly missapropriating money intended for Sector Wide Approach (SWAP) in the ministry which is funded by Healthy Global Funds.
The conviction of Ng'ambi was described by many journalists of Malawi as "an act of the government aimed at setting of a precedent that will go a long way in muzzling press freedom".
