Malawi: Banda prepared to arrest Al-Bashir

A briefing by the Institute for Security Studies regarding President Joyce Banda's commitment to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, alongside domestic political and legal developments in Malawi.

• President Joyce Banda has stated that Malawi will cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and arrest Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir should he enter the country for the African Union (AU) summit in July. This position creates a potential conflict with the AU, which has instructed member states not to cooperate with the ICC in this case and has invited Al-Bashir as a head of state.
• President Banda's willingness to arrest Al-Bashir is viewed as a pragmatic effort to restore Malawi's international image and secure necessary international aid, following previous criticism and aid freezes after Al-Bashir was not arrested during a visit in October prior to the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
• Malawi's Parliament has repealed an amendment to section 46 of the Penal Code that previously allowed the Minister of Information to ban publications deemed not in the public interest. While this is seen as progress toward democracy, there are concerns that civil society is being weakened because President Banda has appointed several of its members to her cabinet.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). Malawi: Banda prepared to arrest Al-Bashir. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/malawi-banda-prepared-to-arrest-al-bashir

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Malawi: Banda prepared to arrest Al-Bashir. n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/malawi-banda-prepared-to-arrest-al-bashir.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Malawi: Banda prepared to arrest Al-Bashir |url=https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/malawi-banda-prepared-to-arrest-al-bashir |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndmalawi, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Malawi: Banda prepared to arrest Al-Bashir}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/malawi-banda-prepared-to-arrest-al-bashir}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }