Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2006 - Malawi
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 3 May 2006 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2006 - Malawi, 3 May 2006, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/46e69095c.html [accessed 19 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A curious press case in March 2005 got people talking about this small country pinched between Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. The head of state's wounded pride put two journalists through an unhappy episode. Along with many other international media, the correspondent for the BBC and one working for Reuters reported comments made by the president's religious affairs advisor to the effect that the president had decided to move out of his official residence, because he heard "strange noises" and "felt a presence prowling around him" at night. The head of state had been "made to look ridiculous", the public ministry said. The journalists were arrested at dawn like bandits, thrown in prison for 24 hours and then charged. In a country that has not imprisoned a journalist since the end of the military regime of Kamuzu Banda, in 1994, this incident was surprising, not to say ridiculous.
