Malawi 2015 violations & victories January 23 Mulanje Police Public Relations Officer James Kadadzera ordered reporters from private media houses not to take pictures of First Lady Gertrude Mutharika. The First Lady was the guest of honour at a function organized by Plan International at Mthuruwe Primary School in the area of Traditional Authority Mkanda in Mulanje, southern Malawi. Kadadzera denied barring reporters from taking pictures saying he wanted people to have identification cards before attedningthe function. MISA Malawi condemned the action of the Police and appealed to law enforcers to respect journalists. February Government backtracked on its promise to table the much awaited Bill on Access to Information during the February-March sitting of Parliament despite promising Malawians that it would be tabled. November 17 Cabinet rejected the draft Access to Information Bill and sent it to the Cabinet Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs for review. During a meeting with MISA Malawi, Minister of Information, Tourism and Civic Education Jappie Mhango confirmed the meeting and rejection of the bill by Cabinet. Cabinet claimed that the bill is filled with inconsistencies. September 28 The Balaka Magistrates Court convicted a 60 year old man, Alinafe Paulo, of Traditional Authority Nsamala in the district and fined him MK3,000 (about $5) or serve three months imprisonment with hard labor for insulting the President. Paulo was arrested based on Section 181 of the Penal Code and charged with conduct likely to cause breach of peace. October 8 President Arthur Peter Mutharika labeled the media as ‘liars, irresponsible, and agents of the opposition,’ for criticizing his trip to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The media questioned Mutharika’s entourage, hiring of a private jet and the level of expenditure incurred during the trip in the wake of economic problems prevailing in the country. The president also asked for an apology from some media houses over stories on the trip and fell short of specifying what action he would take should the apologies not come forward.