Expressing concern regarding threats to media freedom, governance, human rights abuses and the “shrinking political space”, the UN resident representative in Malawi, Richard Dictus, said,
"[Malawi] definitely have to brace ourselves for a difficult period ahead.
“You [Malawi] need to follow a new line, go back to a number of policy tenets that made Malawi very successful between 2004 and 2009.
Re-establish that macroeconomic stability and if I can put it bluntly, Malawi needs to take its medicine and it will be painful.”
Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for charges of war crimes and genocide in Darfur. He is believed to be responsible for over 300,000 deaths since 2003.
Malawi was recently severely criticised for its failure to arrest Sudan's president, Omar Al-Bashir, during his visit to the country.