By Rahim Abdul
The Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court has issued a warrant of arrest for popular social media influencer Hanna Jabes, widely known as Tamia Ja, after she failed to appear before the court for the second consecutive time.
On August 26, 2025, the court ordered Tamia Ja to pay a K50,000 fine for missing her initial appearance. However she neither paid the fine nor showed up for her rescheduled hearing today prompting the court to take tougher action.
The case was initiated by the National Aids Commission (NAC), which filed a complaint accusing Tamia Ja of violating privacy laws and damaging reputations by sharing explicit and sensitive information about another person’s health status without consent on her social media platform.
NAC’s legal representative, Bruno Matumbi, told the court that Tamia Ja’s repeated absence shows blatant disregard for the justice system making it difficult for the trial to proceed.
The court’s ruling means Tamia Ja will remain in police custody until the case is concluded or until the court is satisfied that she will attend all subsequent proceedings.
The case has stirred debate online with many Malawians discussing digital responsibility, freedom of expression and the legal boundaries of content creation on social media.
