Go govern in hell, Malawi media hits back at DPP SG’s hate speech

Newly appointed Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary General (SG) Francis Mphepo has attracted a wrath of criticism following his outbusts that Malawi newspapers should sell in hell  for publishing  stories that are  discrediting  President Peter Mutharika and his administration.

Mphepo: Hate speech against media condemned
Mphepo: Hate speech against media condemned

Mphepo made the remarks at Masintha Ground in Lilongwe when President Mutharika addressed a political rally to welcome  in DPP mostly politicians who flirts with every ruling party.

But Mphepo’s comments have attracted criticism from Malawi’s flagship newspaper, The Daily Times, Media Institute for Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter and the media practitioners.

In its editorial comment, The Daily Times said the media has only committed a sin of reminding the President and his administration “about what they are not doing right”.

The paper said instead of preaching hate against the media, DPP government should be thankful to the the watchdog of the society for its role of reminding government what it is doing wrong.

“For instance , the media has been unrelenting in reminding this [DPP] government that people are suffering, that our education sector is upside down, that our health sector us left-side-right and our economy is cruising to damnation and for this wise counsel all government thinks of is hatred,” reads the editorial comment in part.

The paper commented that if DPP is desperate for praise singing, they there are party loyalists that are reserved  for that.

“But we are the media and we believe we are the eye of society, and we will not stop pointing at the flaws,” the paper stated.

It went further to point out that many Malawians are also “disheartened” that tax-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corportation (MBC) Radio and Television are being used  for propaganda and hate speech, reminding government that MBC’s mandate as national broadcaster is to mobilise Malawians towards national building through provision of factual and relevant information.

The newspaper said the DPP administration will be painted with “splendid metaphors” in the media the day government will get serious wuth the fight against corruption and starts providing its people with all basic necessitites.

Meanwhile, the  Media Institute for Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter has fought back at DPP over Mphepo’s class remarks, saying the party should t concentrate on “governing rather than wasting fighting the media”.

Chairperson for Media Institute for Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter Thom Khanje is quoted in The Nation newspaper saying: “DPP to concentrate on governing rather than wasting fighting the media”.

And writing in his column in The Nation, journalist and blogger Golden Matonga observed that DPP  is struggling for authenticity on almost every issue.

“ Not that the DPP has no blueprint for success, but because there is no longer the same level of application. Either corrupted by power or lacking in leadership, the party of ‘dreamers’ has only inherited what was bad about the old DPP—executive arrogance and nepotism,” he wrote.

Matonga pointed out that in 2019 elections, DPP strategists face an unenviable task of selling another manifesto and candidate that will promise change.

“Maybe Malawians, as legendary in docility and stoicism as they are, will be gullible to buy it. If Malawians rise and reject any scapegoats on why the DPP failed to deliver the reformist agenda pledged in 2014, the DPP will have no one to blame but the corruption that has blinded it,” he argued.

Recently, private media owners  issued a Mount Soche Declaration (after the venue of their meeting)  following the recent highly belligerent attitude the President and his DPP administration have unleashed on independent media apparently to choke it from telling the nation the truth.

In the declaration, the media owners say they will also move the courts to seek interpretation on the role of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) which behaves as a police, prosecutor, juror and judge in regulating and policing private electronic media.

“We will present a united front as a media and regard attacks on one as an attack on us all. We will reject divide and rule machinations by the State and we will only negotiate through our mother bodies, Media Council of Malawi and Namisa,” reads the Mount Soche Declaration in part.

The media representatives have come up with a Mount Soche Declaration  included Times Group, Nation Publications Limited (NPL), Capital Radio Malawi Limited, Zodiak Broadcastion Services, MIJ FM Radio Station, Chanco Radio/TV Station, Beta TV, Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter and Media Council of Malawi (MCM).

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Wa mwale
Wa mwale
7 years ago

Mine, is CHENJEZO only, dpp, this is a free advice for you, NOONE FIGHTS WITH MEDIA AND WIN THE BATTLE, even when Dr Banda was president and there was only one paper standing for him alone, without online medias, without internet, without whatsapp, without any outlet, there was only mbc radio 1, no any other radio station before 1993; but information for regime change was louder and clearer. There is NOTHING Mr Mphepo can do on this issue now its too late. You are powerless, you are fighting a war you cannot win, at the end its dpp which Must… Read more »

mudzalila
mudzalila
7 years ago

Icinso ndiye citi? Where do you get these people from?

mmc
mmc
7 years ago

Slow down folks! This is our country all of us (North, South and Centre). Two wrongs don’t make a right. U say DPP talked badly and you hit back by talking badly! Who is fooling who here? So much anger amongst one nation….Zitipindulira Chani? Nanga nanu atolankhani mukalalata ngati andale ndiye tisiyanisa bwaa? Calm down people we need to stand united and make our case without fighting… United we stand devided we fall!

The Analyst
The Analyst
7 years ago

O……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..O About this, we shall remind each other again, “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” – Norman Cousins. . . . Is it hard to see that wisdom and reason have died inside this Mphepo and everybody who is supporting him? . . . Who, but a useless citizen, finds it hard that APM is being told the truth (on how badly he’s conducted himself and how absent he’s made himself available on several issues)? . . . I just wish people’s ignorance had limits, they would… Read more »

ANALYST
ANALYST
7 years ago

Kamunthu kameneka mukuti ka Francis Mphepo munakatenga kuti inu achipani cha nkhanza cha DPP? Ka nkhope kokhwima chonchi – si kamfiti kameneka?? kamutu kokalamba ngati aka kangakonze ma plan othandiza dziko (nanga si ikoko kafa kale)?? Mxiii chi dziko cha Malawi ndi chichititsa manyazi ndithu!

santana
santana
7 years ago

Do we have a media in Malawi? Are you talking about this comprised of Bwande, Kasakula, Nhlane? Journalists without ethics? My foot!!

anti-santana
anti-santana
7 years ago
Reply to  santana

Santana, as usual, pure tripe being spouted by you. Grow some balls and argue objectively. 1 – Blackouts 2 – No water coming out of taps 3 – Education going in a downward spiral, 4 – No drugs in hospitals 5 – Inflation going up 6 – Prices of essential goods up 7 – No jobs (unemployment at record levels) 8 – Huge corruption 9 – Recycled politicians who have proved to be useless, they are past sell-by-date and cannot offer anything new. Absolutely clueless politicians who have no plan at all on how to get the country out of… Read more »

Kanchenga
Kanchenga
7 years ago
Reply to  anti-santana

We used people like this to feed crocodiles in the shire. That’s why we never had this stupidity in the one party system. Now they have found their way even to Sanjika.

JKK Chisale
JKK Chisale
7 years ago

These news papers are only sold in Malawi, so what Mr Mphepo was saying is that Malawi is hell and he lives in another world not Malawi. So he means all Malawians are hell citizeni including himself who buys those news papers. This only shows how shallow minded are our politicians or they are not serious with this country and the growing of democracy. Mr Mphepo please slow down

Bakuli Maluzi
Bakuli Maluzi
7 years ago

I have a feeling you misunderstood the whole thrust of the Mount Soche Declaration. It didn’t say the media would give the president and his government a blackout; it said they would consider that route should attacks on the media continue.

Gogodasi
7 years ago

The Malawi media is so stupid. You made a resolution at the so called Mount Soche declaration to black out Mutharika and his cabinet ministers, have you done it yet? Why do you take Malawians for granted? One day you will be shocked to see that nobody has bought any of your newspapers or Malawians will switch the BBC, CNN, SABC Radio Netherlands and other international media for the news.

Sibusiso Mwale
7 years ago
Reply to  Gogodasi

You dnt even know what your talking about…go to hell together with your MBC nayoso imakamba zokomela chipani chanucho

Bakuli Maluzi
Bakuli Maluzi
7 years ago
Reply to  Gogodasi

I have a feeling you misunderstood the whole thrust of the Mount Soche Declaration. It didn’t say the media would give the president and his government a blackout; it said they would consider that route should attacks on the media continue.

tman
7 years ago
Reply to  Gogodasi

i like to concur with you Mr Gogodasi.These folks cannot sell their paper if they do not talk bad about Mutharika.Imagine from the word go,they have been critising Mutharika all the way.Does it mean he, Mutharika is not running the country the proper way? All of the negative publicity would have yielded to an uprising if everybody listened to this MCP paper.Stop wasting papers and trees,indeed sell your paper in hell.Donald Trump was despised all the way,he is an American President now.Do not worry Mr President we have alot of maize to eat.Mind you, Daily Times represents people of the… Read more »

Telon
Telon
7 years ago
Reply to  tman

@tman I really feel sorry for shallow thinking people like you. Is it something u can pride in that the South has more people? A small country like Malawi that goes 4times into Zambia has a population bigger than Zambia n the biggest contributor us the Southern region. Because of high illiteracy levels in the South people think high population is a sign of wealth. What a retrogressive thinking.

kristos
kristos
7 years ago
Reply to  Gogodasi

tman and Gogodasi, Can you comment on the facts being pointed out in the article regarding the state of the country at the moment? That’s more important. You say there is maize to feed people? 16 million suffering Malawians will all switch to international media channels – right? Dream on. As someone said, if you think you can enrich yourself by deluding others, you can only end by deluding yourself.. This is fact. If you believe you can govern and enrich yourself by deluding Malawians,you will only end by deluding yourself. It is simple. You yield what you put in… Read more »

Ntondo
7 years ago

Che Nkhope kamutu ngati Dzira

Eduardo
Eduardo
7 years ago
Reply to  Ntondo

Thank you tman and gogodasi for supporting what I have been writing for a couple of weeks now. I did single out the Daily Times/Times Group which you have also done. Without any malice at all, this paper with its Editor, is on a campaign to tarnish the image of the state President by writing bad things every day as if there is nothing the President is doing. To me I think there is so much hatred by this media house towards the President I do not know why. I gave an example of what Kasakula writes every Saturday-always Mutharika… Read more »

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