Malawi government bans tabloid

"Our organisation has launched a campaign to flush out all publications that are not registered," said Thaulo in an interview without disclosing the other unregistered publications.

Registration mandatory

He explained that the National Archives operates on two legal instruments: the National Archives Act and the Printed Publications Act. All printed publications, according to the Printed Publications Act, are required to register with the National Archives and at the same time submit a copy of their publication to the organisation.

"Our findings show that it is not only the Weekend Times which is not registered with the National Archives of Malawi, but numerous other publications. Our findings further show that management of Blantyre Newspapers Limited (BNL - the tabloid's publishing group) filed the necessary paper work for registration with the National Archives some time back," explained Thaulo.

Public outcry

The public has since expressed its anger over the decision through phone-in radio programmes and comments published on the internet. Joel Mabaso, an avid reader of the newspaper, said government has only used the department to shut down the paper because of the nature of stories it carries.

"Government has been angered by the centre spread article carried in the newspaper which detailed the alleged cheating of the wife of the Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe," he said. The newspaper has also been exposing sex scandals of government, religious and other political officials in the country.

MISA Malawi joins protest

The Malawi chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has joined the protest and has appealed to government to reverse its decision.

"It is surprising to note that the ban has only been issued on the Weekend Times and after BNL management had duly filed the necessary papers with the National Archives for registration," said the MISA statement signed by Aubrey Chikungwa, national director and Brian Ligomeka, chairperson.

"We feel banning the publication because it is not registered with the National Archives is rather severe and smacks of hypocrisy as the order has been issued almost a year after the Weekend Times was first published," said Chikungwa and Ligomeka in the statement.

Threat to media freedom

The media body said it is important to note that the ban on the Weekend Times is a serious threat on freedom of the press, which is a vital determinant of every democratic society.

"It should be made clear, however, that MISA Malawi does not condone flouting procedures when it comes to registration of publications," said Ligomeka and Chikungwa.

"We thus appeal to government and management of BNL to solve this matter amicably while the Weekend Times is still in circulation, otherwise, the swift speed taken by the National Archives to ban the paper will be viewed as a deliberate move by government to instil fear in the media in Malawi," the statement explained.