Radio station shut down, staff arrested following election coverage
Reporters Without Borders expressed its concern after the 19 May 2009 closure of privately owned opposition radio station Joy Radio and the arrest of four staff members, two of them journalists,...
View ArticleRadio station resumes operations
Court orders police off a radio station, allowing it to go back on air.
View ArticleEditor arrested, released on bail
(MISA/IFEX) - On 7 July 2009 Malawi's police in the capital, Lilongwe, arrested Gabriel Kamlomo, editor for Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS), a privately-owned radio station. Kamlomo is accused of...
View ArticlePrivate radio station demands Parliament speaker disclose MPs' assets
A private broadcaster is demanding that the National Assembly speaker disclose details of members of Parliament who have declared their assets.
View ArticlePolice harass journalists photographing demolition
Armed police officers harassed two senior journalists for taking photos of city council workers torching unlicensed vending stalls.
View ArticleRadio presenters acquitted in election coverage lawsuit
A court ruled that two Joy Radio presenters did not have to answer to charges of breaking election rules.
View ArticleCourt orders regulatory authority to compensate Joy Radio
The communications regulatory authority has been ordered to pay Joy Radio US$98,000 for loss of business while the station was forcibly closed.
View ArticleCourt reserves ruling on editor's case
A decision on the case of editor Gabriel Kamlomo, who was accused of broadcasting false information likely to cause public fear and alarm, has been postponed until 22 December 2009.
View ArticleTwo individuals arrested for allegedly operating illegal radio station, face...
Police in the Kasungu district have arrested two men on suspicion that they were operating a radio station without a licence.
View ArticleState-controlled broadcaster bans local artist's music
The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has banned the latest album by musician Lucius Banda from enjoying airplay on the station's airwaves.
View ArticleSentence against gay couple appalling, says ARTICLE 19
Steven Monjenza and Towonge Chimbalanga were found guilty of "gross indecency" and "unnatural acts" and condemned to 14 years of hard labour.
View ArticlePresident threatens to close newspapers that "lie"
President Bingu wa Mutharika threatened to shut down newspapers that "tarnish" his government's image, according to news reports.
View ArticleMISA statement on the state of the media and freedom of expression
MISA is appealing to the current administration to champion media freedom in Malawi and to regard the media as partners in development.
View ArticlePublication and circulation of newspaper banned by National Archives
According to reports broadcast on various radio stations, the ban was issued because the paper is not registered with the National Archives of Malawi.
View ArticleCourt injunction allows newspaper group to continue publishing "The Weekend...
The ban on "The Weekend Times" was based on the fact that the paper was not registered with the National Archives of Malawi in line with the Printed Publications Act.
View ArticleZBS online editor freed
Gabriel Kamlomo was acquitted of charges of "publishing false information likely to cause public alarm".
View ArticleGovernment approves penal code amendment that threatens media freedom
According to MISA-Malawi, the amendment is inconsistent with the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.
View ArticleARTICLE 19 calls for review of penal code amendment
ARTICLE 19 outlines its main concerns with the controversial legislation and calls on the government to protect freedom of expression.
View ArticlePhotojournalist roughed up at former president's memorial service
Jacob Nankhonya was manhandled by a man identified as Lawrence Mlambwaza who reportedly stopped Nankhonya from taking pictures at the memorial service and attempted to seize his camera.
View ArticleRadio station vehicles attacked
Masked men were seen throwing stones and petrol bombs at the ZBS branded vehicles; sources said the attacks could be connected to the station's coverage of recent political demonstrations.
View ArticleJournalists beaten, detained and prevented from covering protests
The journalists were covering demonstrations organised by civil society groups to protest against fuel shortages, price hikes and a general decline in the economy, and to demand more democracy.
View ArticleHuman Rights Watch calls for investigation into killings of peaceful protesters
The deaths resulted from the security forces' apparent excessive use of lethal force during largely peaceful demonstrations and some rioting on 20 and 21 July.
View ArticleJournalists arrested and attacked, media censored
Severe fuel shortages, rising prices and high unemployment sparked two days of protests in Malawi last week - one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011. At least...
View ArticleJournalist arrested for photographing presidential property without permission
Ernest Mhwayo was reportedly pursuing a story about the property, which recently came under scrutiny when commentators asked the president to explain his wealth.
View ArticleArson attacks target rights activists
Following an alleged arson attack on McDonald Sembereka's house, civil society groups have accused President Bingu wa Mutharika's administration of muzzling freedom of expression.
View ArticleJournalist threatened after allegedly publicising conversation involving...
One of the threatening text messages received by Joseph Mwale said, "How dare you shame our next president? . . . We will make you a villain because you will soon die."
View ArticleJournalists must be allowed to investigate death of activist, says RSF
Robert Chasowa was found dead on the campus of Malawi University Polytechnic on 24 September in circumstances that are far from clear.
View ArticleGovernment recommends review of draconian laws
The Law Commission has been asked to review certain laws recently passed in Parliament, including Section 46 of the Penal Code, which empowers a minister to ban publications deemed unsuitable for the...
View ArticleNew report highlights ongoing press freedom challenges, says MISA
The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation gained notoriety for serving only President Bingu wa Mutharika while shutting out other independent voices.
View ArticleInformation minister threatens journalist, alleges espionage within media...
MISA is gravely concerned about the information minister's condescending behaviour towards journalists, coming as it does against the backdrop of a rapidly declining democratic culture in Malawi.
View ArticleMISA concerned about growing intolerance of media freedom
MISA has expressed deep concern over what it considers serious threats to media freedom and freedom of expression in the country.
View ArticleOfficial calls for boycott after media outlets criticise government policies
MISA is concerned that threats to withdraw advertising will threaten the vibrancy of the country's private-sector media outlets and by extension, the country's nascent democracy.
View ArticleMISA-Malawi chair receives threats over stance on media freedom
Anthony Kasunda is receiving threats from unknown persons over the MISA chapter's stance on the government's repeated attacks on the media.
View ArticleA bad weekend for Malawian journalists
No media outlet critical of President Bingu Wa Mutharika or the ruling Democratic Progressive Party was spared by the government this past weekend. The broadside included a public campaign to discredit...
View ArticleArrest of human rights official part of larger crackdown
There is widespread speculation that Kapito was arrested in order to prevent him from testifying at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva at which Malawi's final human rights report will be presented...
View ArticlePresident warns journalists who "insult" him; rights groups at risk
Malawi's President has ramped up his campaign to threaten and discredit any media that don't toe the official line, report the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the Committee to Protect...
View ArticleJournalist arrested for article on same-sex marriage
Clement Chinoko is languishing in police custody for writing a story on an alleged engagement ceremony involving two women.
View ArticleCPJ welcomes repeal of news censorship law
The law would have allowed the information minister to ban any publication it deemed contrary to public interest for an unspecified period of time, news reports said.
View ArticleMISA meets with President Joyce Banda, pushes for Access to Information law
The meeting drew attention to key issues that are relevant to how the media can function more effectively in the nascent democracy.
View ArticleCommission of enquiry concludes Malawi blogger murdered
The special commission created by Malawi's new president to investigate opposition blogger Robert Chasowa's death has concluded that he was murdered, as his family and colleagues had suspected all along.
View ArticleMalawi online journalist arrested
Police in Blantyre, southern Malawi, have arrested online journalist, Justice Mponda but are not shedding further light on the arrest.
View ArticleReporter assaulted by Malawi government official during interview
Anthony Masamba was attacked after asking the head of the Malawi Confederation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry to comment on alleged government overspending. The State House has reportedly...
View ArticleMalawi Parliament's chief security officer arrested for assaulting journalist
Youngson Chilinda, chief security officer of the Parliament of Malawi, punched photojournalist Thoko Chikondi on 30 May 2013. Chilinda was arrested on 1 June, and has denied the charge of "assault...
View ArticleGovernment minister assaults journalist in Malawi
The assault against journalist Raphael Mlozoa follows a report he filed, which said that the minister of Economic Planning and Development, Ralph Jooma, had himself been assaulted by certain members of...
View ArticleSouthern African Development Community: Address free expression, human rights...
As the 15 member states of SADC prepare to meet for the 34th Summit of Heads of State and Government in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe on August 17 and 18, 2014, the three human rights organizations drew...
View ArticleMoratorium on anti-gay arrests in Malawi reaffirmed
A written statement from Justice Minister Samuel Tembenu explicitly commits the government to the suspension of enforcement of anti-gay penal code provisions. The statement also emphasizes the...
View ArticleNew bill "undermines rather than promotes" the right to information in Malawi
MISA Malawi and the Media Council of Malawi (MCM) would like to appeal to government to review its position on the just-gazetted Access to Information (ATI) Bill which, in its current form, undermines...
View ArticleAccess to information bill passed in Malawi
The passing of the bill is a huge step in the 12-year long process in which various stakeholders, led by MISA Malawi, campaigned for legislation on access to information.
View ArticleMalawi media outlet closed after publishing stories on "maize gate"
The closure of Times Group comes less than a week after the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) sought an injunction restraining the media outlet from publishing stories on the...
View ArticleBill allows mining communities to access information on environment, health
Malawi’s recently passed information bill could help communities affected by the extractive industries get information about related environmental, health, and safety risks.
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