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BLANTYRE, Malawi, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A constitutional court sitting in Malawi's commercial city of Blantyre Tuesday found the rogue and vagabond law unconstitutional.
A panel of three High Court judges, Justices Michael Mtambo, Justice Zione Ntaba and Justice Sylvester Kalembera met as a constitutional court and made a determination on the constitutionality of Section 184 (1) of the Penal Code which gives base to the rogue and vagabond offence.
The constitutional court sat following a case where a street vendor from the city challenged the Section after police arrested him in March 2015 on his way to his business place and they charged him with the offense.
Legal and rights bodies among them the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance and lawyer, Mandala Mabulasa, supported the street vendor's challenge describing the charges on the vendor as oppressive, a violation of human rights and a hindrance to freedom of movement and privacy, among other things.
They further argued that the law largely targeted the poor and defenseless such as commercial sex workers who could not even afford legal assistance.
Following the Tuesday constitutional court's determination, Malawians will now freely walk about at any place any time round the clock without the fear of being picked by the police on charges of rogue and vagabond.
The constitutional court's determination has been hailed by many including the country's renowned legal experts and the public at large. Enditem
