Viola attacks Zodiak, Malawi media for reporting on president’s travel bill

Presidential press officer Geralld Viola has been criticised for attacking private radio station Zodiak and other media watchdogs for exposing the extravagance of the presidency, saying his actions are tantamount to making President Peter Mutharika a dictator.

Zodiak and Nyasa Times reported President Mutharika was chartering a presidential jet costing the struggling poor Malawians billions of money.

But Viola, instead of letting the President address the issue of national importance during a news conference on Wednesday, attacked the radio and some Malawi independent media outlets for probing on President’s travel bill.

He said it was not surprising that Zodiak “were doing commentary like a football match” on the sudden death of late president Bingu wa Mutharika.

“Abwana, enafe sitikudabwa kuti wailesi imeneyi imayankhula zimenezi chifukwa ndi omwe aja brother wanu atamwalira, imachemelera ngati mpira,” Viola said in Chichewa during a live broadcast on state radio MBC.

But some Malawians took to the social media describing Viola’s sentiments as those of making of a dictator.

In 2009 Viola miserably failed in primary parliamentary elections in his home in Chikwawa after he borrowed huge sums of money through katapila to fund his political campaign.

He started his career as a news reader at MBC before former minister Sidik Mia hired him as his personal assistant.

In his statement, Mutharika said he took with him a larger than life delegation of 106 people and vehemently defended his position, saying each one of them played a vital role at the UN general assembly in US where they stayed for a month.

Mutharika boasted he does not need money from poor Malawians, saying he has fat bank accounts in the US.

Violla was recently severely criticised for writing heads of ministries and government departments to advertise with Galaxy FM a family business of late Bingu wa Mutharika, with others calling for his head.