ABSTRACT
The school principal wrote to the plaintiff teacher, copy to the Director of Education, advising the plaintiff that she must not be accompanied after dark by any African man, and that the principal was acting especially to "protect the good name and respect which is due to all women in this country". A Malawian court refused to accept that a description of the plaintiff lawyer and his wife as "South African preachers" meant they had renounced their citizenship, or owed allegiance to South Africa, or were not proud of being Malawian, or were pretending to be preachers from South Africa. The latter point carries less weight in African jurisdictions for there the judge is the finder of fact as well. If the judge considers that no reasonable jury could decide that the words were defamatory, he must withdraw the case from the jury.
