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Almost as daunting as the violence and looting is the fact that the police and army in Malawi seem to be specifically targeting, arresting, and attacking journalists. As of now, three radio stations have been shut down, and taking any video footage of the protests is cause for arrest. Twitter accounts of what’s actually happening seem to be one of the more reliable sources of information.
Some updated information about what’s going on, from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Police arrested a contributor to Nyasa Times, a U.K.-based online news site critical of the government, journalist Collins Mtika, today as he covered protests in the northern city of Mzuzu, according to local journalists. Mtika remains held without charge on anti-government accusations. Vitima Ndovi, a freelance journalist in the capital, Lilongwe, was also arrested today and remains in custody. Police assaulted and briefly detained reporter Kingsely Jassi of private media group Blantyre Newspaper Limited after he took photos of officers beating a man, according to Independent Nation reporter Kondwani Munthali.
In response to the unrest, today the state-run Malawi Communications Regulations Authority (MACRA) switched off the signals private broadcasters Joy Radio, Capital Radio, and MIJ FM, for about four hours, Joy lawyer Ralph Kasambara told CPJ.
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