(MISA/IFEX) – Please note that the printing company Design Printers is based in Lilongwe – and not Blantyre – as noted in the MISA Malawi alert issued on Wednesday 12 December 2001. MISA regrets the error. The corrected version follows: On Monday 10 December 2001, issue No. 352, Vol. 10, of “The Chronicle” failed to […]
(MISA/IFEX) – Please note that the printing company Design Printers is based in Lilongwe – and not Blantyre – as noted in the MISA Malawi alert issued on Wednesday 12 December 2001. MISA regrets the error. The corrected version follows:
On Monday 10 December 2001, issue No. 352, Vol. 10, of “The Chronicle” failed to appear on the streets of Malawi due to the refusal of Design Printers, a Lilongwe-based printing company, to print the issue.
According to “The Chronicle” editor-in-chief Rob Jamieson, the printers refused to print the newspaper because of an article analysing local reggae star Evison Matafale’s death, which occurred while he was in police custody. “They said that they could only print for us if we removed the offending article and put new, acceptable articles in their place,” Jamieson said.
He added that “The Chronicle” refused to do this, “because we [“The Chronicle”] believe that if we knuckle under to this censorship we will only be limiting our effectiveness as an independent media and any concession now will exact even more demands in the future.”
“The Chronicle” has since written to all of its regular subscribers, informing them that the newspaper will only resume publishing once it has found an alternative source of printing service that does not feel it has the right to censor the paper.
Design Printers administrative manager Billy Chimimba told MISA that although the company had refused to print the “The Chronicle”‘s 10 December edition, they were still awaiting official notification that “The Chronicle” had ceased to do business with the printing company.
“Yes, we refused to print that issue. We also have the right and we can refuse to print things,” Chimimba told MISA, adding that he was not aware of any legal protection under Malawian law for printing companies should they print controversial material.
“They’ve picked [arrested] printers before,” Chimimba told MISA, referring to an incident, reported on by MISA in May, when Karora Printers & Publishing House owner Kalera Mhango and the editor of “The Dispatch” newspaper, Martines Namingah, were arrested and charged with publishing false information likely to cause public fear and alarm (see IFEX alerts of 29 and 28 May). The charges were eventually dropped.
Printing companies in Malawi rely heavily on government tenders as a source of income. According to Jamieson, Design Printers provides a complete service to the government and has been awarded a number of government contracts. “I would estimate that at least eighty percent of their business comes directly from government. We have always felt that this would affect us at some time and our worst fears have now materialised,” he said.
Background Information
On Friday 23 November, the Malawi Police arrested Malawi’s King of Reggae, Matafale, in Blantyre, on allegations that the musician had authored a defamatory letter. According to a group of Rastafarians who stormed “The Chronicle”‘s office on Wednesday 28 November, Matafale was arrested after he issued a hard hitting letter accusing the government and the United Democratic Front (UDF) party of exploiting and ill-treating poor people in the villages.
Matafale was said to have spent the night at Chileka Police Station before being taken to Lilongwe Police Station. It was while he was in their custody that he became ill. It is reported that he was taken to hospital where he later died of pneumonia. The circumstances surrounding his death have since raised suspicion in the minds of many Malawians. It is generally believed that the government had a hand in his death.
In Malawi, the Republican Constitution guarantees freedom of expression.
ANNEX
The following letter was sent by “The Chronicle” to all of its regular subscribers informing them that the newspaper will only resume publishing once it has found an alternative publisher:
Sunday, 9 December 2001
The High Commissioner
South African High Commission
LILONGWE
Dear Sir,
The Chronicle: Volume 10 Number 352
We regret to inform you that the above-mentioned title for this week will not be published due to our regular printer’s concern for possible reprisals from government because of the contents. The printer insisted that we alter our content before he could print for us, a decision that was communicated to us late this evening. This is not the first time that this has happened and as recent as the preceding issue they removed a section from page 5 which they felt could have invited repercussions from the authorities.
We, as a national publication, place a lot of time, effort and commitment in ensuring the veracity of our publication and believe we do this work in the interest of the nation and the public’s right to information and believe that the printer cannot proscribe what we can or cannot publish.
This has led us to make the following decisions:
1. We will not publish The Chronicle until we can find a printer who will give us a service that does not impinge on our right to publish freely information that we believe is unbiased, accurate and of national interest.
2. Should we be unable to find the kind of service that we expect from printers as regards non-interference in editorial content and quality we will temporarily cease production of The Chronicle.
3. In the event that subscriptions have been paid and we are unable to continue publishing by the end of January please feel free to send us an invoice for the balance for settlement.
We have provided you with a copy of what should have appeared on Monday 10 December 2001 and sincerely hope that you could contact us and give us your analysis of the contents to merit the printer’s decision.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Yours faithfully
Robert A. Jamieson
Chairman and Editor in Chief
For further information, contact Zoe Titus or Kaitira Kandjii, Regional Information Coordinator, MISA, Street Address: 21 Johann Albrecht Street, Mailing Address; Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia, tel: +264 61 232975, fax: +264 61 248016, e-mail: researc
