Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa who is also Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Vice President for the South has attacked the Tonse Alliance government of President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera for interfering with media freedom in the country.

Nankhumwa said this in a statement released on Tuesday as he joined the press in celebrating World Press Freedom Day.

In his statement Nankhumwa accused the Tonse Alliance of muzzling press freedom which has resulted in Malawi slipping on rankings from 62 in 2021 to 80 in 2022 as released by Reporters Without Borders.

“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,” said Nankhumwa.

He added: “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.”

Nankhumwa has since asked Chakwera to desist from taking the country back to one party era.

“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,” added Nankhumwa.

This year’s World Press Freedom Day is celebrated under the theme “Journalism Under Digital Siege”.