(MISA/IFEX) – Early on the morning of Thursday 26 July 2001, a group of about ten people, suspected of being opposition supporters, beat up journalist Ken Ndanga, of the controversial pro-government weekly tabloid “The Sun”. Ndanga, whose newspaper has been waging an undeclared war against the newly-formed opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) pressure group of […]
(MISA/IFEX) – Early on the morning of Thursday 26 July 2001, a group of about ten people, suspected of being opposition supporters, beat up journalist Ken Ndanga, of the controversial pro-government weekly tabloid “The Sun”.
Ndanga, whose newspaper has been waging an undeclared war against the newly-formed opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) pressure group of sacked former senior minister Brown Mpinganjira, said that he was distributing the latest edition of “The Sun” at around 6:00 a.m. (local time) when the attackers descended on him.
“They were armed with sticks and a panga knife,” he told MISA Malawi. Ndanga said that before beating him up, they warned him to stop writing what they termed “trash” against the opposition or they would kill him.
Ndanga struggled with his attackers but was overpowered. He sustained a cut on the forearm and several bruises. The journalist said he suspected that his assailants were hired by the opposition because of the scathing stories “The Sun” had been writing about them.
But NDA leader Brown Mpinganjira – who is consistently criticised in the pages of “The Sun” – dismissed Ndanga’s claim, saying he did not even know that “The Sun” published a Thursday edition.
“In any case, we don’t have the capacity of beating up people,” he said.
Mpinganjira claimed that the group were thugs belonging to the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF), who had learnt that Ndanga and his colleagues at “The Sun” were planning to hold a press conference to disclose sensitive government information.
Week after week, “The Sun”, believed to be funded by the ruling party, publishes articles on alleged scandals ranging from financial impropriety to the sexual exploits of senior opposition leaders, especially NDA leader Mpinganjira. Mpinganjira said he “has toyed with the idea” of suing “The Sun” but has resisted the urge because suing the newspaper “would only give it credibility.”
Mpinganjira’s NDA also has many tabloids that blatantly defend his cause, focusing on unearthing alleged corruption in government and other scandals.
