Not guilty: Zodiak editor pleads granted bail
Lilongwe Magistrate Court has freed Gabriel Kamlomo, editor for Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS), a privately owned radio station on a bail.
Kamlomo (pcitures second from left) was arrested on Tuesday – 7 July 2009 – by Malawi’s police in the capital, on accusation of misleading a police officer and causing public alarm by broadcasting, what the police say is an alleged false murder case.
He appeared before the court in the morning where the state changed the initial charge to press him with an offence of publication of material likely to cause public alarm.
The state represented by Lilongwe Police Head of Prosecutions, Levison Mangani had objected to the granting of bail arguing that Kamlomo could interfere with investigations.
He requested the court to allow Kamlomo to be kept in custody for five days.
The journalist pleaded not guilty.
His lawyer Ian Malera asked the court to flee the journalist saying he would not tamper with evidence and objected to the state plea of detention time extension.
Lilongwe Resident Magistrate, Vikoshi Ndovie ruled that the state had failed to prove that the accused would have interfere with investigations if he were to be granted bail.
He however ordered Kamlomo to be freed on K10, 000 bail bonds with one surety of K10, 000 non cash bond and to be reporting to police every fortnight on Friday’s.
Owen Lupesya, veteran broadcaster at Zodiak radio stood as Kamlomo’s surerity.
Kamlomo was arrested following a news article broadcast by the station on Friday, July 3, 2009 in which two unidentified women said they had been hired to prepare a mutilated body with missing body parts in Lilongwe. The story did not state whether the women worked for the police, a funeral home or hospital.
National Institute of Media in Southern Africa, MISA-Malawi said in the statement that the story surfaced in December 2008 and for several months the station has been trying to get the side of the police on the issue to no avail.
Kamlomo however managed to interview the central region Police Public Relations Officer, John Namalenga who claimed that they had investigated the issue and concluded that it was a false story. The station nevertheless went on to report the story while giving the side of the police.
Apart from allegations of broadcasting a false story Zodiak’s station manager Mathias Manyeka told MISA-Malawi that the police also accuse Kamlomo of attacking the police insinuating that they [police] were not interested in investigating the murder case.
“ZBS has been investigating the story since December last year. We allowed Gabriel to air the story on July 3, following reluctance by the police to investigate the incident,” said Manyeka.
Misa-Malawi said in the statement that when contacted for comment, Namalenga claimed that Kamlomo broadcast despite being warned that the story was ‘false’.
“The police told Kamlomo that the information he had about the alleged dead body without some body parts missing was false. We even advised him not to air the story because police investigations revealed that the information he had was not true,” he said.
MISA-Malawi has condemned Kamlomo’s arrest in a statement signed by its Chairperson, Brian Ligomeka, MISA-Malawi described the action taken by the police as strange and at the same time an infringement on media freedoms.
“The police have often been calling for tip-offs from the general public to help them in fighting and combating crime. If they are arresting journalists who are supposed to be public watchdogs, how do they expect whistleblowers to be providing them with information?”, reads part of the statement.
The case will resume on 12 August, 2009.
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