The president ordered that the prisoners should be released by Thursday 5 July, in time for Friday's Independence Day celebrations scheduled to take place in the northern city of Mzuzu.
BBC: Malawi president frees 880 prisoners
2.
Serving Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique, the 579km-long lake is accessible in Malawi via the towns of Mangochi or Monkey Bay in the south and via Mzuzu, Karonga or Nkhata Bay in the north.