A prominent investigative journalist in Malawi, Gregory Gondwe, has gone into hiding after the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) allegedly threatened to arrest him.
According to Human Rights Watch, this comes after Gondwe wrote a report exposing the military’s multi-million-dollar payments to companies owned by a businessman under investigation for corruption.
The report, titled “Chakwera still in bed with Zuneth Sattar: Treasury pays $4.98 million for armoured carriers amidst corruption allegations“, was published on 29 January 2024 on the Platform for Investigative Journalism.
In January 2022, the government of Malawi announced the cancellation of all contracts with firms associated with the named businessman and also barred his companies from future involvement in public procurement in Malawi.
However, according to Gondwe’s report, government authorities have continued to pay the businessman.
The report says, for instance, the businessman was paid US$4.98 million as part of a US$19.93 million deal for the procurement of military hardware.
This week, Gondwe wrote on Facebook that he had gone into hiding after “top government officials” told him that the Malawi Defence Force intended to arrest him for “endangering state security.” He wrote:
The military believes it has a leak and they think addressing it through me will solve their problems.
In April 2022, the police arrested and detained Gondwe and tried to compel him to disclose his sources for a similar story about alleged government corruption.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa Malawi has condemned the threats towards Gondwe saying they have a chilling effect on journalists and the media.
It said if the MDF or any other concerned parties have an issue with the media, they should use proper channels to raise such issues.
Fifteen Malawi civil society organisations also denounced the alleged plans to arrest Gondwe, describing them as an attempt to intimidate whistleblowers who wish to report corrupt practices to the media.
Source Pindula News
