Malawi is a small country occupying the southern part of East Africa. It is renowned for its farming activities because the majority of the population
earns their living from the agriculture. Poverty remains the biggest challenge
and Malawi ranks among the world's least developed nations.
Malawi's laws are based on the British legal system. The Government
of Malawi and other influential policy makers and advocates all agreed on
improving the justice system. The judicial system is failing to conduct most of
its activities because the government's financial allocation is insufficient to
meet its budgetary needs. The magistrates preside over cases except for murder
and manslaughter cases which automatically go to the high court.
The Malawian police service is inefficient, poorly trained and
inadequately funded and corruption is also widespread. Because the police are
generally corrupt, the citizens have no trust in them. The average Malawian
does not understand the concept of bail and community service. The
community sees this as a failure in the criminal justice system and the payment
of bail money as bribery; thus there is a risk that citizens will resort vigilante
justice.
In addition to the above mentioned social conditions the people in
Malawi are fighting against many additional social problems namely:
corruption, poverty, crimes, HIV/Aids, and the proliferation of HIV/Aids
affected orphans and street children. Qualitative fieldwork was conducted in
Malawi from November 2003 to April 2004. Observations were made of
children and young people on the streets, and interviews conducted with
children and young people in penal institutions. Research was also conducted
with a wide range of agencies, including both interviews and observations.
As a final point, the thesis examines youth, crime and justice in Malawi,
drawing on both fieldwork experience and secondary sources. Relevant
criminological sources were often limited, and so extensive use is made of
sources such as non-governmental reports. The aim of the thesis is to
contribute to the underdeveloped field of the criminology of developing
societies.