With all the interest in current events in Africa, Walt has been spending a little more time looking at African news websites. Amongst the routine stories of incompetence, corruption, oppression and revolution, one often finds accounts of truly bizarre occurrences or ideas. That's Africa.
From Afrik-News comes a report that the government of Malawi has introduced a raft of legislation that seeks to "mould responsible and disciple citizens" [sic] by punishing people who pretend to be fortune tellers, hinder the burial of dead bodies, or ... errr ... "pass gas" in public.
The Local Courts Bill, the story says, also seeks to punish "any person disturbing religious assemblies, trespassing on burial places, or insulting the modesty of a woman". The bill will cover other offenses including the carrying of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, fighting in public, challenging to fight a duel, deceiving witnesses, destroying evidence, escape and removal of property under lawful seizure.
Commenting on the bill, an Malawian is quoted by Afrik-News as saying: "How can this government criminalise the release of intestinal gases? Everyone does that, even if it’s in public or it has an accompanying sound which is boring, making it criminal is a joke of democracy."
Another said he "support(s) the bill and is welcome. Sometimes breaking wind in public or during meetings is a disturbance of the peace".
A Member of Parliament is quoted in the British satirical magazine Private Eye: "I had better hand myself over to the police or something, because I just this very second fouled the air while I was laughing at this proposal. Why should fouling the air take priority over corruption amongst legislators or the regulation of Chinese investments? I cannot understand this obsession with farting."
Strategy conclusion: If you're planning on visiting Malawi, stick a cork in it!
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