Malawi: Catholic church faults public media

"Informed decisions are made by an informed public," declared the Catholic church leaders in the letter. "The public media, paid with tax payers' money, have to ensure that the general public remains informed [unlike what it is currently doing]."

Malawi's public media includes the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).

Most respected communication

The Catholic Church's pastoral letters are the most respected communication in Malawi since the first of such letters, penned in 1993, played a pivotal role in ending the 30-year-dictatorial rule that suppressed press freedom among many atrocities. President Bingu wa Mutharika, himself a Catholic faithful, has failed to clearly make any comment after the issuance of the letter, which accused his government of failing in many governance areas.

"The public media are used to castigate faith-based and non-governmental organisations that offer alternative contributions to various policies. Besides that, the private media have been threatened with closure if they are perceived to be 'unpatriotic'," says the letter in direct reference to the threats made by Mutharika.

Imposing on press freedom

On 26 August 2010, Mutharika threatened to shut down all unpatriotic newspapers and media houses. On 29 October his government, through the department of the National Archives, banned The Weekend Times under the pretext that it was not registered with the institution.

The bishops said in their letter that both private and public media should play a crucial role in promoting a vibrant, well-informed and critical society. "This of course also asks from the same media, faith-based organisations and non-governmental organisations that their motivation should always be to contribute to the good of the nation," the Catholic authority said.