Police wrongfully arrest Joy Radio journalist, detain him for hours

April 3, 2021 Nyasa Times Reporter  22 Comments

Malawi police at Kawale in the capital Lilongwe on Friday morning harassed and wrongfully arrested Joy Media Group journalist Enock Balakasi, detaining him for two hours without any apparent reason.

Enoch Palichina Phiri, wanted to commit suicide over her girlfriend in the picture
Enoch Balakasi, Joy Radio journalist, was harassed and wrongfully arrested by Kawale police

All this, Nyasa Times has learnt, came about due to a commotion instigated by one Enoch Palichesi Phiri in Kawale township, where Balakasi resides.

Phiri, who is also a media practitioner, wanted to commit suicide by hanging himself after her girlfriend reportedly disappointed him.

Scores of residents including Balakasi thronged Phiri’s house in Kawale in order to persuade Phiri not to commit suicide.

But Phiri armed himself with a panga knife, turned violent, chased away people and threatened to hack anyone who came near him.

Kawale police were then called in but they too failed to tame and arrest Phiri.

Now, to cover up their incompetence, the police officers started harassing innocent spectators including Balakasi for taking pictures.

“Why are you taking pictures? They asked me. But when I told them I am a journalist and that Phiri is my friend, they still  dragged me to the police station. They confiscated my phones and searched through, deleting some pictures,” Balakasi told Nyasa Times.

He added: “At the station, they wanted to lock me up in a police cell  till Tuesday. They said I would be charged with conduct likely to cause breach of peace and that I was working as journalist without permission. I protested, telling them I had done nothing wrong”.

Meanwhile, the police released Balakasi unconditionally.

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22 replies on “Police wrongfully arrest Joy Radio journalist, detain him for hours”

  1. This suicidal kid should be prosecuted and, if found guilty of attempting to take his own life, he should be quickly sentenced to death. Just kidding!

  3. Taking photos was not wrong. We see BBC showing photos of people crying in funerals. Do they ask for permission? Sometimes they warn you that the pictures are graphic before showing. Not before capturing

  5. Aaaaaaa imeyi ikhale nkhani. The headline is misleading. I thought there was a certaon function. shupit reporting

  8. You wanted a story to report well you have one now you are the main character in your own story

  9. I don’t see any wrong from a journalist.Where could he have taken the permit…?
    We want fresh news,there4,the Journalist wasn’t wrong.
    Police,we have the right of getting fresh issues…imagine,ZbS,zikangochitika,numbers kwa idea…..as such,police must know that journalist got permits from Misa to cover anything worth….Malaei Police,when will you be modern police..?
    Travel please see how your friends in uniform work in other countries,you are paid by us(tax payers)as such,you must protect us with divinity,we are the boards don’t arrest us unnecessarily….
    Mtolankhani uyo,must take you to court,mwina munga kasegukeko mumaso.

    Hello/Chain Sir !!
    DURBAN
    KwaZulu NaTaL.
    +27724922299

    [email protected]

  10. Why take pictures of your friend in distress? Are you for real? Can you please stop playing the journalist card? You were there not as a journalist because a genuine journalist will never be taking photos of a distressed person trying to kill himself.

  11. Mmmh yayi kaya. Kodi kwanthu ko kuli independent police investigate directive ngati. Enock yu akuyenera ku lipiridwa ndalama zambiri no Matt how many minutes he stayed in chitolokosi. And wapolice investigator yo ntchito ayenerankumuchotsa. Enock wapangadwa traumatized Physically, Mentally, physiologically, wasting your time instead of kupanga zina kuja zaphindu more over it’s covid time utha kutengerako matenda wosiyana siyana. Ku Malawi I think police are very immuned ku ma wrongdoing wosiyasiyana siyana. Which is wrong nobody is above the law. With this mbuzi so called Chakwera the country os now a banana Republic. Go claim for the money may be five Hundred thousand up.Anazolowera apolice amenewa. Keep safe your detention letters as a wetness.

  12. Being a ‘journalist’ doesnt give you the right or authority to take photos of a suicidal person. This is the problem with journalism in Malawi, there are no professional ones. Just a bunch of cowboys using their phones to take photos, videos and voicenotes to write incomplete reports in poorly structured sentences, whilst ignoring the rights of the suicidal persons privacy to get their next big story. Its good the police took his phone and gave him a hard time, maybe it will teach him to have respect for the rights of a suicidal person and focus on helping him (since he said hes also afriend) rather than photographing him to get lunch money from the next newspaper willing to pay for those images.

    2. Well said and facts. journalists of today think they own the world. Everyone has a right to privacy. Go and arrest him again, teach him a lesson.

    4. Yes you are right most journalist they are failing to respect other people’s rights

    5. He was wrong, you can’t take photos in such situations. What if it was his sister or his father. Its hard for police to persuade the suicide tyrant on camera.

    1. MISA Malawi helps only the journalists who have names and are connected to the leadership of the organization.

      The institute does nothing when a poor journalist has his or her rights violated.

    2. Miss Malawi mustn’t tolalet this noncese must stop and teach our jounalist how to behave when it comes to national interest

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