Right to Write

REPRESSIVE REGIMES HATE INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS  By Joseph Kayira | 8 February 2024 In 2022, veteran journalist Gregory Gondwe was invited to South West Region Police Headquarters in Blantyre for what the police said was an interview on the ongoing investigations police were conducting regarding an online news story published by Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ) and other related issues. It was not an interview; it turned out to be an interrogation. He was at the police for hours and only gained his freedom around 5:00 pm. Police impounded his equipment such as a laptop and mobile phone. Someone senior in government apologized for Gregory Gondwe’s arrest when it became clear that he was behind the journalist’s arrest. Malawi’s development partners, the United States and the United Kingdom issued a statement condemning the arrest, further expressing concern over the conduct of police to raid the offices of PIJ, where Gondwe works. “We note that he now has been released b...

STORM BREWING OR DUST SETTLING IN DPP? By Joseph Kayira | 2 February 2024 A few days ago, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) expelled some of its senior members, who included its former vice president for the South Kondwani Nankhumwa, former publicity secretary Nicholas Dausi and former secretary general Grezelder Jeffrey. This protracted battle started well before the general elections in 2019. It worsened when it was announced that DPP president Peter Mutharika would step down to pave way for a new leader. Nankhumwa was one of the people who declared his interest to contest for the DPP presidency. Five others have been associated with the presidency too. They are Bright Msaka, DPP vice president for eastern region and legislator for Machinga Likwenu; Dalitso Kabambe, former governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi; Paul Gadama, a businessman; Joseph Mwanamvekha, member of Parliament for Chiradzulu South; and Living Word Evangelical Church Prophet David Mbewe. Mwanamvekha and Mbewe have...

PUTTING THE LID ON CORRUPTION, BAD GOVERNANCE  By Joseph Kayira | 4 January 2024 Corruption is evil, yet it is generally accepted as a way of getting things done – especially in the civil service. Corruption is the reason the economy has remained stagnant for close to 60 years now. It is also the reason poverty has permeated through society’s stratum, leaving millions prone to de-humanising effects of poverty. It is important to acknowledge that corruption is a serious problem in Malawi; and that it goes beyond the civil service. Corruption has quickly spread to other sectors of the economy, including the private sector. Stories are bound of politicians and businessmen who connive with public officers to defraud government. Past and present cases reveal how civil servants, politicians and businesspersons have seized by dishonest or fraudulent conduct, government resources and diverted them into their personal bank accounts. Chizuma: Heads the ACB (Photo Credit: Internet) The Cashga...

CRAVING FOR A BETTER AND UNDIVIDED FAM By Joseph Kayira | 21 December 2023 A lot has been said about the Football Association of Malawi (Fam) elections. One of the revelations from that election is that when people want change, they will do anything to force you out of office. Walter Nyamilandu, the man who was at the helm of Fam for 19 years did not commit any known serious crime to be kicked out of the football association. Those who wanted to flush him out of the system, come rain or shine, said the man had been Fam president for far too long “as if he is the only one who is blessed with the knowledge on how run football in Malawi.” At least that is what his detractors were saying.  Those who did not like his legacy started accusing him of belonging to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Someone took a picture of the former Fam president standing by the roadside wearing something that looked like a blue DPP beret. It became fodder for those who were baying for his ‘blood’. O...

IN THE NAME OF SAVING MALAWI... By Joseph Kayira | 20 November 2023 Where I live, we are still arguing; and bone of contention is the 44 percent devaluation of the Malawi Kwacha, which the Reserve Bank of Malawi announced some days ago. We were informed that the devaluation was a necessary evil that once effected it would unlock donor funds that this country very much needs for development projects and to resuscitate the economy, which has been in the doldrums for far too long. The exchange rate was adjusted from the selling rate of K1,180.29 to K1,700.00 United States Dollars with effect from 9 November 2023. The Central bank said the adjustment stemmed from an assessment it conducted which showed that: Supply demand imbalances remain in the market despite adjustments of the exchange rate through the auction system; arbitrage opportunities have resurfaced in the market due to the mismatch in the exchange rates in the cash and TT markets; and that spot checks on some of the players ind...

Casual attitude towards sexual violence and mob justice? By JOSEPH KAYIRA | 1 November 2023  In December 2020, a press statement by the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) observed how widespread cases of violence against women and girls had become at the time. It said reports of rape and defilement were widespread. Equally, MHRC said the country had witnessed increased levels of violence and mob justice against some elderly persons who – until today – are accused of witchcraft.  Three years down the line, the situation has not improved. There have been reports of instances of mob justice; video clips have gone viral of women stripping fellow women in broad day light and the intention has been to shame the victims for going out with married men. We still get police beats of men who force themselves on their own daughters. And newspapers are awash with reports of suspected murder cases. The question is: why this rise in cases of sexual violence and mob justice? At a time when...

 TOWARDS THE ECONOMIC BRINK... By Joseph Kayira | 13 October 2023 A few days ago, in a mini-Cabinet reshuffle, President Lazarus Chakwera appointed his former minister of trade and industry, Simplex Chithyola, to head treasury. It is a move that has surprised many. However, the appointment of Chithyola as finance minister should be the least of our problems. To a larger extent, Malawi’s problems go beyond cabinet appointments. The good thing is that Chithyola will not be working in isolation. There is a whole lot of technocrats at treasury who will be guiding him on implementation of financial and monetary policy. We can only wish him well in this daunting task. Chithyola: The new Minister of Finance  (Photo Credit: Leyman Publications) What Malawians should be wary of is the state of our economy and the failure to decisively deal with problems that stand in the way of economic growth and development. For some time now, Malawi has had issues with the Bretton Woods institutions...