Malawi Arrests ’94 Graduate

A Harvard College graduate was released on bail Wednesday from a Malawian jail two days after being arrested for anti-government protests in the northern city of Mzuzu.

The arrest of Danga Mughogho ’94, which sparked international concern and outrage, was prompted by efforts to oppose government-led efforts to change the constitution and allow President Bakili Muluzi to run for a third term, a violation of the central African country’s present constitution.

Mughogho, chair of the Malawi Forum for Unity and Development was held in custody Tuesday and Wednesday by Malawian authorities for “spreading false information.”

“[Mughogho] was released on bail on Sept. 19, but there is still charge for ‘conduct likely to cause a breach of peace,’” wrote Janine Shors, the political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe, in an e-mail.

“Although he spent 48 hours in custody, he assured me that he was not mistreated in any way. He is healthy and happy to be at home,” Shors said.

He will remain free on bail until his trial on Oct. 8.

After some members of the Harvard community learned of Mughogho’s arrest, they began an e-mail and fax campaign to secure his release, contacting classmates, relatives and the local U.S. Embassy.

The Harvard African Student’s Association (HASA) and its alumni organization, Harvard African Students Association Network, contacted University President Lawrence H. Summers to ask for an official request from the University to the government of Malawi for Mughogho’s release.

HASA Co-President Uzodinma C. Iweala ’04, however, said that no response was immediately forthcoming from the president’s office.

Police accused Mughogho of writing a widely distributed leaflet calling on motorists to honk their car horns and other people to make noise at specific times to show their opposition to the third-term amendment.

The campaign has caused a stir in Mzuzu, but Malawi’s Home Affairs Minister Mojeza Maluza told news agencies that police would crack down on the leaflet’s author because it was causing “anarchy.”

However, the police action caused international outrage and prompted a wide-spread campaign to free Mughogho, whom supporters said was a political prisoner.

The Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN), a news service run by the U.N., reported that the arrest “flew in the face of an appeal by Malawi’s four major donors for the government to allow wider consultation before going to parliament with a third-term bill.”

IRIN also reported that Mughogho was the first person arrested since Muluzi, whose second five-year term ends in 2004, ordered police and the military to suppress any demonstrations against the proposed amendment.

Mughogho, a former resident of Mather House, worked in an advertising firm in New York after graduation, but later moved back to his homeland Malawi to start an Internet business. He became politically active and has been writing for a paper called The Chronicle.

Sam Pratt, a long-time family friend who was involved in the efforts to secure Mughogho’s freedom, said he is relieved that Mughogho has been freed on bail, but he said he remains concerned about any charges still lodged against him.

“Given the current tense political climate in Malawi, my mind is not at ease about his situation,” he said.

Pratt added that the charges “appear to be intended mainly to intimidate other Malawians who may be contemplating action to protect the country’s emerging democratic institutions.”

After his release last week, Mughogho told IRIN that said that he would not give up his fight against the amendment.

“The constitution is sacred. As such, any amendments should not be undertaken lightly,” he said. “I have no reservations in saying that the currently mooted changes in the constitution for the selfish gain of a few corrupt individuals are blatant attempts to rape it...Dictatorship awaits around the corner. This indeed is a struggle that is worth shedding blood for to win.”