Malawi's Mutharika outraged at social media

Mutharika recently revealed his concern over the use of social media in his southern African country, saying Malawi was becoming too reliant on social media.

According to Malawi24, Mutharika said this during the consecration of Reverend Father George Tambala as Bishop of Zomba Diocese. A picture of Mutharika falling at a tree planting ceremony in Lilongwe went viral on Facebook and Twitter a few weeks ago, with people speculating he was ill.

Nyasa Times reported that Mutharika urged citizens not to embrace negativity and to stop spreading false rumours about leaders and other citizens.

The president used the example of a recent case whereby social media users grasped onto a false story about a banker in Bangwe Township who was believed to have killed his spouse.

"I heard the story of the banker who was said to have killed his wife and it was just a lie," Mutharika was quoted as saying.

Social commentator, Emily Luwani, said the fact that almost half of the president's speech was focused on social media demonstrated that the government had intentions of regulating social media.

"The fact that Mutharika picked on social media of all the problems the country has, tells a lot about what his government thinks of the social media," Luwani said.

Source: News 24 via News24Wire.