Leader of opposition in Parliament George Chaponda who also chaired the just ended Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) convention has blasted MISA Malawi Chairperson Golden Matonga for not engaging the leadership over attack on journalists during the convention.
It is said that in the wee hours of Monday, August 19, 2024, some people operating under the banner ‘DPP media team’ during the party national convention at COMESA Hall in Blantyre threatened and ‘forced’ NPL team to delete a Facebook news update on what was happening at the convention.
The NPL team had to seek special protection from some party officials to safely move themselves and their livestreaming gadgets out of the convention hall.
The move angered Matonga who issued a statement condemning the barbaric acts.
While joining Matonga in condemning the barbalic behaviors of some DPP youth cadets, Chaponda said Matonga’s statement is aimed at tarnishing the cordial relationship which was there between DPP and journalists covering the convention.
“As the Chairperson of the recently concluded Democratic Progressive Party – DPP National Convention, I have seen the attached statement and I wish to express my regret over the unfortunate incidents that involved some of our party supporters and journalists from Nation Publications Limited (NPL).
“However, I am left wondering why MISA Malawi chose to issue a public statement without engaging with me or the party leadership first,” said Chaponda.
He added: “Was it not possible to address these incidents amicably, considering the cordial relationship we enjoyed with the media throughout the convention?
“One may be tempted to believe that MISA’s statement is aimed at overshadowing the convention’s successes.
“Let’s set the record straight: we tried to create an environment where all journalists would be treated fairly, and we are happy that almost all of them covered the convention superbly. We did that because our leader Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika is a democrat and values the media.
“Without being fallacious, there was an incident at MCP convention at BICC in Lilongwe and we all read about the incident on the NPL social platform. Surprisingly, we didn’t see any statement on the same.”
Chaponda has since said that the opposition DPP is committed to upholding media freedom and promoting a positive working relationship with journalists.
