MUTHARIKA DEFIANT ON JOURNALISTS' ARREST

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000338 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM KPAO MI SUBJECT: MUTHARIKA DEFIANT ON JOURNALISTS' ARREST REF: A) Lilongwe 259 B) Lilongwe 333 ¶1. Summary: President Mutharika has defended the recent arrest of two journalists for publishing stories about ghosts in the presidential mansion. Although the two were released on bail after two days, charges of ridiculing the president have not been dropped and the case remains in the judicial system. End summary. ¶2. At a media availability during the April 14 launch of Mutharika's new political party (ref B),the president told reporters and the large crowd of supporters that he has not forgiven journalists Raphael Tenthani and Mabvuto Banda for publishing stories about ghosts in the presidential mansion (ref A). The reports were carried on the BBC and wire services worldwide. Despite earlier accounts that zealous presidential advisors had ordered the arrests without specific orders from the president, Mutharika's statements confirmed that he had agreed with the detentions. A visibly agitated Mutharika declared that "these people published lies" that embarrassed the president, and that "they stood by their lies" even after the story was denied. Mutharika appears intent on seeing the case to a conclusion, stating "the matter is now with the courts." He went on to admonish the journalists present, as he has on previous occasions, saying that they are not professional and need training that his government could provide. ¶3. Comment: While Mutharika frequently claims that he favors a free press and is open to criticism, this episode demonstrates that there are limits to press freedom in Malawi. The print press is generally quite free and the president is a regular target of critique. In this case, however, the president clearly was personally offended by the story, and it appears that these two writers crossed an indeterminate invisible line that invoked his wrath. The arrests do not yet constitute a pattern, but they have certainly caused bitter feelings among journalists here. For Mutharika, the episode will do nothing to earn the positive media coverage that he is desperately seeking for his reform program. GILMOUR