HERE’S how Malawi deals with assaults against journalists — in ways much better and faster than Philippine courts and officials do.
The chief security officer of the Parliament of Malawi who had earlier assaulted a female photojournalist spent the weekend behind bars following his arrest on June 1, on orders of a magistrate, according to an alerts report of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).
MISA, citing news reports, said the security officer, Youngson Chilinda, punched female photojournalist Thoko Chikondi several times and barred her from doing her professional duties on May 30, 2013 at the parliament building.
UPDATE:
The Lilongwe Magistrate Court on Tuesday, June 4, granted bail to Chilinda, who pleaded not guilty to the charge and denied assaulting Chikondi.
After pointing out that the prosecuting team had failed to sufficiently prove that Chilinda would interfere with investigations if released on bail, Magistrate Ernest Chimwembe set bail at MK10,000 (approximately US$30), ordered Chilinda to surrender his passport and to report to the nearest police station to his house every Monday.
A trial date will be set in due course.
MISA said the security officer assaulted Chikondi as she was taking photos of a consumer rights advocate, John Kapito, who had just presented a petition to the national assembly.
“Apparently thinking that it was him who was being photographed, Chilinda claimed the photojournalist had not first sought his permission and he proceeded to assault her,” MISA said.
“Chikondi, who reports for one of Malawi’s biggest newspaper companies, Nation Publications Limited (NPL), sustained bruises on the back as well as soft tissue damage and was treated at Kamuzu Central Hospital,” it added.
Chilinda, a former soldier, reportedly appeared before Lilongwe Magistrate Ernest Chimwembe on Monday, June 3, and denied the charge of “assault occasioning bodily harm”. His bail ruling was scheduled for Tuesday, 4 June 2013 at 14:00hrs (Central African Time).
Chikondi told MISA that she was “feeling much better” and “had been overwhelmed by the support received from family, friends, NPL management and media freedom activists.” She also said the assault on her had strengthened her resolve to remain in photojournalism, MISA reported.
“I was at Parliament today and, of course, it was a bit different for me. However, I don’t have any second thoughts about the work I do and I’ll continue being a photojournalist. In a way, the whole experience has made me even more determined,” Chikondi said.
A landlocked nation of 14.9 million people and formerly known as Nyasaland, Malawi is bordered by Zambia on the northwest, Tanzania on the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west.
One of the world’s least developed nations, Malawi gained independence from British colonial rule in 1964, came under the strongman rule for 30 years beginning 1970, and held its first free multiparty elections in 1994. Like the Philippines, the Republic of Malawi now has a democratic, multiparty government with three branches — executive, legislative, and judiciary. Joyce Banda, Malawi’s first female president, came to power after president Bingu wa Mutharika died in 2012.
MISA, on the other hand, is the primary advocate for media freedom and freedom of expression in southern Africa. Its founding was triggered by the Windhoek Declaration on Promoting Independent and Pluralistic Media in Africa of 1991, according to its official website, www.misa.org.
The MISA Education and Production Trust was registered on 12 October 1994 in Windhoek, Namibia, by a group of activist media practitioners “to promote and strengthen a pluralistic and independent media in Southern Africa as a pillar of the democratic process.”
MISA was formed against the backdrop of media violations and harassment of journalists by governments in the region. It operates as a regional program with national chapters forming its membership in 11 southern African countries.