Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Malawi

Journalists’ group condemn attack

    JOHANNESBURG

    The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) in South Africa condemned an attack on African Eye News Service’s (AENS) senior correspondent in Malawi, Brian Ligomeka. Ligomeka was formally accredited by the Malawi government to cover the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Blantyre at the weekend. FXI said in a statement on Wednesday that Ligomeka, along with colleagues, went to the city’s Chileka Airport on Sunday morning to report on the arrival of a delegation.

    “The journalists were about to leave the arrivals hall, when seven masked men grabbed Ligomeka from behind and dragged him out of the building via the VIP lounge. Once outside, the armed men identified themselves as members of the ruling United Democratic Front’s youth league and threatened to ‘kill you because you insult our president in your articles’,” the FXI said. The men, the FXI added, then accused Ligomeka of being a spy for the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) pressure group. The men said Ligomeka was a spy because he had in the past briefly worked for ‘The Mirror’ newspaper, which is owned by NDA leader Brown Mpinganjira. The organisation said that Ligomeka was currently in hiding, after his attackers threatened to track him down and kill him.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join