MBC shake up politicised: Employees to pen Mutharika
Witch-hunting continues at Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) as political influences have made some reporters and broadcasters, to be deployed to other departments and others removed from daily news bulletin reading roaster on suspicions that they are not control freaks for ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The affected employees have since threatened to take up the issue with President Peter Mutharika.
Nyasa Times sources revealed that the newly appointed Deputy Director General, Aubrey Sumbuleta and News Director, Albert Mungomo have removed 15 news anchors from the news bulletins reading schedule with immediate effect for allegedly siding with People’s Party (PP) and its leader Joyce Banda during her two-year tenure.
Interestingly, the victimized employees are those who conducted themselves professionally during Banda’s regime.
The directors have ordered only those believed to be DPP sympathizers to read news.
MBC replaced renowned news readers Patricia Sundu, Davie Umah, Litness Chaima, Simeon Boyce, Mercy Chaluma, Bashir Amin and Blessings Kanache among others.
The development has created anxiety in the corridors of the public broadcasting house as now stories are being censored before aired. One story from a reporter in Lilongwe was removed from the order of the bulletin on Tuesday this week for being pro- opposition.
No reason was given as to why some of the broadcasters and reporters who have been reading news for years were removed and reports emerge that some of them might be deployed to other inferior departments.
“No reason has been given why we have been removed. But it seems some of us have been affected with the so called reforms which they say they are making,” one of the victims revealed to Nyasa Times.
Another employee added: “Seriously, they can’t say we are pro JB, some of us have never been pro PP; that is just a [scapegoat]. It seems they want to have their own people who are loyal to DPP and wouldn’t mind throwing away ethics and start serving interests of the ruling party.”
The employees are at meantime strategizing on how deal with the reforms and have threatened to petition President Mutharika who upon his election promised to free MBC from political influences.
Mutharika appointed Sumbuleta two weeks ago as deputy to Director General Benson Tembo and Mungomo, former Presidential Press Officer, as replacement for Hamilton Chimala who was re-deployed together with Head of News, Wellington Kuntaja.
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