The Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has expressed shock over the unavailability of Pastor Michael Howard, Director of Kalibu Academy at today’s hearing.
The Commission is today holding a public hearing into allegations of administration of corporal punishment and child sexual abuse at Kalibu Academy.
MHRC launched an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and administration of corporal punishment to learners at Kalibu Academy last year.
Reverend Michael Howard, Kalibu director
It is on record that Howard will not be available for the hearing as he has left the country.
Kate Kujaliwa MHRC Public Relations Officer has expressed worry with the development saying Howard was aware about the hearing as he was invited.
“We are surprised because we served them with a notice which was delivered by hand on 22 April 2022. Only to hear Pastor Howard has left the country for Finland on Monday 1 May 2022 when the hearing was scheduled for 5th May” said Kujaliwa.
Kujaliwa, has however said that the hearing will proceed with testimonies from witnesses and victims.
The investigations have resumed after they were suspended last year in September, after the Academy sought an injunction and leave for judicial review.
Ambassadors Charity Trust ( ACT), a Lilongwe-based charity organization on Friday donated assorted items worth K100,000.00 to Temwani Chilenga’s Charity organisation called Zoe Foundation at Kasengere in Lilongwe.
Speaking during the handover of the donation, Director for Ambassadors Charity Trust Blessings Chiwosi said the donation is part of their mission to practice the gospel of salvation by engaging in works of charity and national development through supporting the underprivileged of the society.
“We came here to donate items such as clothes and shoes. We felt it essential to share and assist in bridging the wealthy poverty gap in our country as we believe that together as Malawians we can develop this Nation and transform lives into something that God intended. We are very certain that the clothes and shoes donated shall fill a gap at Zoe Foundation and hence achieving more great purpose in working together,” he said.
In her remarks, founder for Zoe Foundation, Temwani Chilenga commended ACT for the donation saying it is will go a long way to help the orphans at her orphanage centre.
Chilenga further called on well wishers emulate what ACT has and support the children with materials or finances based on their ability.
“As an orphanage, we commend ACT for the gesture as it is timely. We lack many things that we cannot provide on our own. We are calling for all well-wishers to come in and support the children with basic needs such as food and school materials. We will also be grateful if a fence will be built at the hostels for the protection of these children,” said Chilenga.
Zoe Foundation was opened in 2018 and it has a total of 95 orphans and vulnerable children.
As the World is commemorating the World Press Day today,the human rights grafting body, Human Rights Defenders Coalition ( HRDC) has asked the current Chakwera’s Tonse government to fully committ itself in creating the conducive environment for journalists.
The human rights body Chairperson Gift Trapence has made the call through a statement 247 Malawi News has seen.
In a statement, Trapence says media plays a crucial role in disseminating information and contribute more in the development of this country therefore, a need for journaliststo be respected.
Gift Trapense
Trapence says time has now come for the government to stop intimidating and doing unnecessary arrests of the journalists.
He adds that journalists cover the untruth to fight corruption as well as checking the abuse of power and demand of transperancy from those in power.
” As we cerebrate world press freedom day today there is a need to acknowledge a grim landscape where efforts to silence media should decrease,” says Trapence in a statement.
Journalists around the world commemorate world press day on May 3 every year and this year’s theme falls under ” journalism and digital siege” which weighs in on digital era impaction, freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, access to information and privacy.
As the world commemorates World Press Day, Leader of Opposition in Parliament and DPP Vice President for the South Kondwani Nankhumwa has urged the Tonse government to stop muzzling Press Freedom in the country
Nankhumwa’s full statement is as follows
“Today, 3rd May, is World Press Freedom Day. I wish to congratulate all journalists in Malawi as they join their friends across the globe in commemorating this very important day.”
This year’s theme, according to the United Nations, is “Journalism Under Digital Siege”. The theme is intended to highlight the multiple ways in which surveillance and digitally mediated attacks endanger journalists and journalism.
In 1994, Malawi embraced democracy. Freedom of the press is enshrined in the Republican Constitution under section 36. The access to information law also took effect in September 2020, which we all celebrated as a big step forward towards fully consolidating our democracy.
Kondwani Nankhumwa
So far, the media has played a crucial role in strengthening democracy in the country by providing the necessary information for citizens to make informed decisions. As the ‘fourth estate’, the media has performed exceptionally well in holding the executive arm of government accountable for its actions.
However, according to the 2022 Freedom of the Press Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Malawi has slipped in ranking from 62 in 2021 to 80 in 2022 in terms of promoting freedom of the press and access to public information by journalists.
I am not surprised by this huge fall in ranking because it appears that the Tonse Alliance government, under President Lazarus Chakwera, has brazenly gone full throttle in muzzling press freedom, including harassing and arresting journalists for merely doing their job.
A case in point is the recent arrest of social media commentators, including a nurse, Chidawawa Maine, and Mr. Joshua Chisa Mbele, as well as that of Director of Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ) Gregory Gondwe, on 5th April, 2022.
As journalists commemorate this very important day, I would like to call upon President Chakwera and his government to resist the temptation of taking Malawi back to the one-party totalitarian practices where journalists were arbitrarily arrested and detained for many years for reporting the truth. Under that one-party oppressive regime of the late Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda, journalists were forced to toe the party line and to always glorify the ‘Ngwazi’ as a demi-god.
As Leader of Opposition in Parliament, I will not fold my hands and watch the Tonse Alliance government snuff away various freedoms that Malawians gallantly fought for in 1993 and 1994, including the freedom of expression. We shall, therefore, continue to push for the removal from our statutes archaic laws that impede media independence, and the safety of journalists in Malawi in conformity with our democratic dispensation.
On Tuesday morning President Chakwera engaged journalists in what was described as Breakfast with Journalist at the state house in Lilongwe
