BNL ordered to pay George Chaponda MK50m over maizegate defamatory articles
The High Court in Blantyre on Friday, November 3, 2023 ordered Blantyre Newspapers Limited (BNL) and others to pay MK50 million to former Agriculture Minister, Dr. George Chaponda.
The payment is compensation to Chaponda over the maizegate articles BNL’s newspapers and reporters wrote and published, which were defamatory to the former cabinet minister.
In 2017, Dr. Chaponda took legal action against BNL and some of its employees over the stories published in connection to the maizegate, a scandal involving a maize procurement deal from Zambia.
BNL(Times Group)—which publishes Daily Times, Malawi News and Sunday Times—reported extensively on maizegate.
Chaponda sued group Editor In-Chief George Kasakula, The Daily Times Editor Innocent Chitosi, Sunday Times Editor Chachacha Munthali, Reporter Alick Ponje and The Daily Times Assistant Editor Madalitso Musa.
The compensation order, signed by High Court Deputy Registrar I.M Nebi, observes that: “The defendant’s stance has been that it published the articles in exercise of its media freedom until the court found them in the wrong in respect of 6 articles”.
The order reads in part: “As regards the value of the Kwacha, it goes without saying that its value keeps on declining.
“In the judgment from which these assessment proceedings emanate, the Honourable Judge directed that the damages awarded should not be huge damages which will end up bankrupting the defendants as responsible media freedom is necessary in a democracy as it calls on public servants to account and the media must be protected by the law and the courts.
“The claimant proposed that he be compensated with a sum of K350, 000,000.00 while the defendant proposed that a sum of K5, 000,000.00 would be adequate.
“All else taken into consideration, the Court forms the view that a sum of K50, 000,000.00 would be adequate to compensate the claimant. It is accordingly awarded to him. Made in Chambers this 3rd day of November 2023 at Blantyre”.
Reacting to the ruling, Dr. Chaponda expressed happiness, adding that “the verdict should serve as a lesson to other media houses who carry their stories without facts or balancing.
The Mulanje South-West lawmaker added that this “should also serve as a lesson to Malawians that we should love one another and avoid cooking lies with the aim of denting other people’s images”.
Meanwhile, BNL has paid the compensation to Dr. Chaponda.
Case background
Dr. Chaponda had been sacked as Agriculture Minister and arrested on July 19, 2017 alongside business-person Rashid Tayub of Transglobe Produce Limited and chairperson of Grain Traders and Processors Association of Malawi (GTPA) Grace Mijiga-Mhango in connection to the procurement of the Zambian maize.
The ex-diplomat fought the case–popularly referred to as maize-gate – in the courts on grounds that he did not in any way engage in corrupt dealings with the middlemen – Kaloswe – during the purchase process.
Following several court appearances and a commission of inquiry into the issue, Chaponda was acquitted by the Zomba Magistrate Court in June, 2020.
Suing BNL, Chaponda had found fault in the Malawi News issue of 28th January to 3rd February 2017, claiming that some of the defendants falsely and maliciously wrote and printed and published or caused to write defamatory words of and concerning him.
Chaponda also claimed that The Sunday Times positioned his picture against the headline “Epitome of Decadence” on an opinion article which was calculated to portray him as a morally rotten person.
The summons further claimed that Chaponda’s “image and reputation as a public official and individual was lowered and brought into public scandal, odium and contempt.”
Chaponda, therefore, sought damages for libel, exemplary and aggravated damages for libel and legal costs.
But BNL had vowed to meet Chaponda in court, saying “the media house stands by all its stories on the maize scandal”.
“We have done nothing wrong. We firmly believe in telling Malawians how badly they are being governed and how badly their affairs on food are being managed by those they entrusted with power,” Group Editor-in-Chief George Kasakula had said.
Kasakula is now Director General for Malawi Broadcasting Cooperation.
Following a prolonged court battle, in 2022, the High Court found BNL guilty of defaming Dr. Chaponda, with a series of articles on the maize scandal inquiry.
Eventually, a high court ruling by Judge Dingiswayo Madise, on February 28, 2022 ordered BNL’s newspapers to apologize to Chaponda and withdraw the defamatory articles, with the apology published on the front pages of BNL Newspapers within the next 10 days.
But as of Sunday, March 13, 2022 – exactly three days after the court-issued deadline – the media house had not complied to the order of publicly apologizing to the embattled former cabinet minister.
Justice Madise’s ruling, among others, urged fair disbursement of media freedom.
Reads the judgement in part: “No one should injure the reputation of other people under the guise of fair comment and media freedom. I, therefore, order the defendants who authored those articles, if still in employment, to withdraw the articles so cited and apologize sincerely to the claimant on the front pages of all the papers involved in this case within 10 days.”
According to the judgment, the front pages were supposed not to carry any other article apart from the apology ordered.
Adds the judgment: “The claimant is entitled to monetary damages and l order the registrar to assess damages taking into account the apology that the defendant will make. It is not in the interest of this court to order huge damages which will end up bankrupting the defendants.”
Justice Madise’s judgment reminded the media that responsible media freedom is necessary in a democracy as it calls on public servants to account and that must be protected by the law and the courts.
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