MISA/IFEX) – On 2 September 2001, journalist Chinyeke Tembo, editor of the anti-government weekly newspaper “People’s Eye”, was pulled out of a minibus and beaten by a group of people. Tembo told MISA that on Sunday 2 September, he was travelling to Blantyre’s business district of Limbe in a public minibus when a group of […]
MISA/IFEX) – On 2 September 2001, journalist Chinyeke Tembo, editor of the anti-government weekly newspaper “People’s Eye”, was pulled out of a minibus and beaten by a group of people.
Tembo told MISA that on Sunday 2 September, he was travelling to Blantyre’s business district of Limbe in a public minibus when a group of people confronted him.
“They accused me of writing ill of President Bakili Muluzi and the United Democratic Front (UDF)-led government,” he said. “All of a sudden they started beating me up.”
The driver of the minibus was forced to stop in the middle of the road where Tembo’s assailants hurled their victim off the bus and continued beating him. He was saved by paramilitary police officers who took him to the nearby Southern Region Police Headquarters.
Tembo said he was surprised that although his assailants followed him to the regional police headquarters nothing happened to them. Instead, his assailants challenged the police, saying they had assaulted Tembo for writing false news about the president and the government.
“Instead of concentrating on the assault, the police started interrogating me about my newspaper,” he said. The police proceeded to arrest Tembo and subsequently charged him with “publishing false news likely to cause public alarm.”
The journalist was kept for four hours before Blantyre civil rights lawyer Viva Nyimba managed to obtain unconditional bail for him. Tembo, who was expected in court on Monday 3 September, said he has instituted legal action against his assailants, most of whom he knew personally.
Tembo was later treated for bruises, a swollen face and general body pains at Blantyre’s Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital. Tembo’s troubles started on 13 August when he published a special edition of the “People’s Eye”, which he said was meant to enlighten delegates of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) about the country’s political situation.
Ruling party youth confiscated the newspaper, burnt it and beat up vendors found selling it. The charge against the journalist emanates from that publication, according to a police spokesperson.
The “People’s Eye” is a fierce government critic that thrives on government scandals, be they sexual or financial impropriety. It has strong links to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a pressure group of sacked former ruling party politician Brown Mpinganira.
