US embassy cable - 05LILONGWE259

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000259 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR GALANEK 
AF/PD FOR DALTON, WHITMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, PGOV, MI, PDEM, President 
SUBJECT: GHOST STORY LANDS JOURNALISTS IN JAIL 
 
1. Summary: Two Malawian journalists and an assistant 
to the Vice President were arrested March 15 over the 
publication of stories about ghosts in the presidential 
mansion in Lilongwe.  The stories, perceived by the 
government to be an embarrassment, were carried on the 
BBC and international newswires.  Malawian journalists 
have reacted strongly, complaining that media freedom 
in the country has suffered a significant setback.  End 
Summary. 
 
2. Two Malawian reporters with international links, 
Mabvuto Banda (The Nation, Reuters) and Raphael 
Tenthani (BBC), and an assistant to Vice-President, 
Horace Nyaka, were arrested March 15 in connection with 
stories the two journalists reported about ghosts in 
the presidential mansion in Lilongwe.  The three were 
arrested on charges of reporting falsehoods likely to 
cause alarm and fear.  In a move reminiscent of actions 
taken against the press under the Muluzi regime, a 
large contingent of police arrested the two journalists 
in the pre-dawn hours on March 15 at their homes in 
Blantyre, then drove them to Lilongwe where they spent 
the night in jail.  The charges against Nyaka were 
dropped and he was released on the morning of March 16, 
but the two journalists remain in custody.  A scheduled 
hearing for Banda and Tenthani before a magistrate on 
the afternoon of March 16 was cancelled. 
 
3. The arrests followed a tense press conference on the 
afternoon of March 12 in which Mutharika delivered a 
twenty-minute tirade against assembled journalists, 
obviously piqued by the "ghost rats" story in the 
international media and other reports of an alleged 
feud with Vice President Chilumpha.  The President 
lectured the assembled journalists, accusing them of 
irresponsibility and accepting bribes from former 
president Bakili Muluzi.  He concluded by offering to 
train Malawian journalists in media professionalism. 
 
Strong Reaction 
--------------- 
 
4. The national press, which has been generally 
supportive of the Mutharika's anti-corruption 
initiatives, has responded with scathing editorials in 
major dailies demanding the release of the journalists 
and claiming that Mutharika has shown his "true 
colors."  The journalists were not ill-treated and it 
is widely believed that they will be granted bail or 
released.  President Mutharika, however, has suffered 
lasting damage in the eyes of the media.  As one senior 
journalist told PAO, "The progress he made in the last 
eight months is now erased." 
 
5. Media, civil society and diplomats strongly 
condemned the arrests.  Some thirty Lilongwe-based 
journalists staged a protest march to Police 
Headquarters to demand the release of the journalists. 
The National Editors Forum of Malawi issued a statement 
denouncing the arrests, saying that they "portray a 
negative image of Malawi to SADC member states as well 
as the international community."  National Media 
Institute of Southern Africa (NAMISA) director Innocent 
Chitosi also condemned the arrests and announced that 
NAMISA was hiring legal representation for the two 
reporters. 
 
6. (SBU) Minister of Information Ken Lipenga has 
distanced himself from the arrests, telling reporters 
that he had not been informed of the action. 
Meanwhile, State House yesterday continued to deny the 
authenticity of the ghost story through Charles 
Namondwe, Chief Political Advisor to the President. 
Mabvuto Banda told  Public Affairs staff that the 
source for the original story was Malani Mtonga, the 
President's spiritual advisor, who has strenuously 
denied having spoken to reporters.  Alfred Mtonga, 
Editor in Chief of The Nation, told PAO that two of his 
editors had been picked up in Blantyre for questioning 
about Banda's source.  Mtonga quipped, "We won't reveal 
our source but I may go turn myself in to save them the 
trouble of finding me." 
 
7. (SBU) Mutharika's government previously intervened 
with The Nation in late January when Mabvuto Banda 
wrote a story revealing that the Government was 
considering shifting its allegiance from Taiwan to 
China.  Police phoned Mtonga and ordered him not to 
publish the story.  The paper had already gone to press 
but Mtonga pulled the story and published a different 
edition.  That action was condemned by NAMISA at the 
time in an article published in the January 23 Daily 
Times entitled, "Stop Poking Police Noses into 
Newsrooms." 
 
Old Habits Die Hard 
------------------- 
 
8. (SBU) Comment: Malawi is a country with few secrets, 
and President Mutharika appears to be growing 
increasingly frustrated with his inability to enforce 
discipline on his inner circle.  While Malawian media 
generally does not let facts get in the way of a good 
story, local political reporting in three papers, The 
Nation, Daily Times and The Chronicle, is generally 
founded in verifiable, corroborated sources close to 
government and the various political parties.  By 
arresting Banda and Tenthani, President Mutharika has 
taken an embarrassing story and amplified it into an 
international image problem.  More importantly, this 
misstep has undermined much of the goodwill in media 
houses and civil society organizations, many of which 
supported Mutharika's policies.  One editor told PAO a 
few weeks ago that he hoped Mutharika's new party, the 
DPP, would herald something new in the region: a 
political party based on a platform, rather than as a 
vehicle for gaining access to power.  That same editor 
commented in an editorial today that Mutharika has 
shown himself to be no different from his predecessors 
in his willingness to intimidate journalists and stifle 
free speech, "We genuinely fear for the future."  There 
are reports this afternoon that the DPP has registered 
as a party and will conduct a press conference this 
evening, which reporters from independent media are 
planning to boycott.  Mutharika has much work to do to 
rebuild the trust of Malawi's media. 
 
Gilmour