Malawi police arrest ZBS editor

The Malawi police on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 arrested Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) editor, Gabriel Kamlomo for authoring and broadcasting a story on Friday, 3 July 2009 where two women complained about having to bathe a dead body with no genitalia in Lilongwe.

By Gregory Gondwe

9 Jul 2009

The issue is alleged to have occurred in December 2008 and for several months Kamlomo has apparently been trying to get the side of the police to no avail.

“However, notwithstanding the delay, Kamlomo managed to interview the central region Police public relations officer, John Namalenga who claimed that they had investigated the issue and concluded that it was not true,” the statement authored by MISA Malawi chairperson Brian Ligomeka says.

“We find the action by the police to be strange and an infringement on media violation and freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution,” says Ligomeka.

At the time of pursuing the story Kamlomo presented to the police for their comment recordings of the women who made the allegations and this is the act the police say have arrested him for.

“MISA Malawi is also appealing to the police to give Kamlomo fair and expedited trial by granting him bail as per the requirement of the laws of this country,” says Ligomeka.

Gregory Gondwe

About Gregory Gondwe

Gregory Gondwe is a Malawian journalist who started writing in 1993. He is also a media consultant assisting several international journalists pursuing assignments in Malawi. He holds a Diploma and an Intermediate Certificate in Journalism among other media-related certificates. He can be contacted on moc.liamg@ewdnogyrogerg. Follow him on Twitter at @Kalipochi.