The following is based on a communication sent by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and another UN expert to the Government of Malawi on 29 December 2025. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this timeframe. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
Since the communication was sent, threats and intimidation against Mr. Kondowe have continued, and no meaningful investigation has been carried out. This is taking place in a context where other human rights defenders also continue to be targeted simply for exercising their rights or carrying out their work.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: reported death threats against human rights defender Benedicto Kondowe, which he received since November 2025 and appear to be resulting from his human rights advocacy work and the exercise of his freedom of expression.
Mr. Benedicto Kondowe is a human rights defender and the Chairperson of the National Advocacy Platform, a coalition of civil society organizations in Malawi advocating for the protection human rights and promoting good governance and civic engagement. He was previously the target of death threats in 2011, when he reportedly received phone calls from unidentified individuals, who told him that he was being watched for exposing the government’s shortfalls and that he should leave the country or else he would face consequences for speaking out against the government.
We previously raised concern about threats and attacks against human rights defenders in Malawi, as well as about the broader pattern of repression against civil society in the country, including in communications MWI1/2025 and MWI1/2024. We regret not receiving a response from the Government to these communications.
ALLEGATIONS
Following elections in Malawi in September 2025, human rights defenders have been the target of increasing disinformation and threats, in an attempt to silence them and in a context in which the civic space for human rights work has been shrinking and stigmatization of human rights defenders has been spreading. The rhetoric used by some high-level public and political figures against civil society and those who exercise their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly further contributed to this repressive environment.
Mr. Kondowe, as Chairperson of the National Advocacy Platform, has been speaking out about these issues, including in October and November 2025, when the organization released statements condemning the remarks made by high-level politicians such as the current President of Malawi and a former member of the Parliament. In their remarks, they reportedly accused civil society of attempting to destabilize the government through protests and threatened to repress public demonstrations, in some cases also naming some individual civil society actors, thus exposing them to risk. Following these comments, similar narratives reportedly spread on social media.
Since 13 November 2025, Mr. Kondowe has been receiving death threats from unknown individuals, who reportedly sent him messages using South African phone numbers. The threatening message reportedly stated that he was “on the radar to be killed”. While the authors of the threats later deleted some of the messages, Mr. Kondowe had made copies that he could use as evidence.
On 17 November 2025, Mr. Kondowe reported the death threats to the area 30 Police Headquarters of the Malawi Police Service, submitting the messages he received. Police officers took a formal statement, showing concern about the seriousness of the threats, and reportedly told the human rights defender that the Cyber Crimes Unit would start an investigation to identify the perpetrators. Reportedly, there have been some attempts to track the phone number from which the threats were sent, but to no avail.
On 18 November 2025, Mr. Kondowe reported the threats to the Malawi Human Rights Commission, with a request for action and support. The MHRC reportedly started an internal investigation on the matter.
Reportedly, the threats against Mr. Kondowe have continued since then, including sustained attacks via social media and two additional threatening phone calls. This has forced the human rights defender to take preventative security measures and limit his movements.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express deep concern by the reported death threats targeting human rights defender Benedicto Kondowe, which appear to be directly linked to his legitimate work as a human rights defender as well as the exercise of his right to freedom of expression. The fact that he was previously targeted with similar threats shows an ongoing pattern of repression and targeting of prominent civil society actors in Malawi such as Mr. Kondowe.
We are particularly concerned that the recent threats against Mr. Kondowe take place in a context where the civic space is reportedly shrinking, and human rights defenders have been targeted with threats, attacks, and stigmatization, simply for exercising their rights. These acts may have a chilling effect on their ability to carry out their legitimate work without fear of reprisals. Furthermore, we are seriously concerned that recurring negative statements against human rights defenders and civil society actors by high-level public officials and politicians might incite further public hostility online and offline, exposing human rights defenders to heightened risk of harassment, reprisals, and potential physical harm.
In her report to the Human Rights Council in 2020, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders highlighted the link between the killing of human rights defenders and death threats, noting that “[n]ot all death threats to human rights defenders are followed by a murder, and not all such murders are preceded by death threats. However, many killings are preceded by a threat.”
