Malawi: BNL managing editor dies

This comes barely six months after the Malawi media lost highly decorated media gurus; executive director for the Malawi Institute of Journalism (MIJ) Jika Nkolokosa - who died on 27 December 2010, aged 53 and media legend Tony Mita who died at 62 on 31 December 2010.

"Disaster" for media fraternity

Managing director for Blantyre Printing & Publishing (BP&P) Leonard Chikadya described the death of Chisambo as a disaster.

"It is a disaster for the company and the entire media fraternity," said Chikadya who said Chisambo has died at a wrong time when he was needed most to fight for the country's embattled media freedom under threat.

As a columnist for the Friday edition of The Daily Times, Chisambo wrote a day before his death that journalists should wake up and stand up for their press freedom as they commemorate the day on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - the very day that he died.

Media career

Chisambo graduated from the University of Malawi in the 1980s and went straight into the teaching profession. His teaching career was short-lived as he joined BNL as business editor in 1995 where he introduced the "Business Times Supplement" in The Daily Times. He left BNL for Nation Publications Limited (NPL) in 1997 where he was editor before returning to BNL as managing editor in 2005, a position he held until his death.

"Being a dedicated member of MISA Malawi, Mr Chisambo will be remembered for constantly championing media freedom and freedom of expression," said Anthony Kasunda, acting chairperson of the Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Malawi).