Some participants at a Chisankho Watch meeting in Lilongwe yesterday called on the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi and the Media Council of Malawi (MCM) to take legal action against the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).
They accuse the public broadcaster of violating constitutional provisions through alleged biased coverage favouring the ruling party and disseminating propaganda.
The meeting, which was held to discuss electoral issues and preparedness ahead of the 16 September 2025 General Election, heard repeated concerns about MBC’s conduct.
Misa Malawi chairperson Golden Matonga and MCM executive director Moses Kaufa, who were present at the meeting, agreed that the public broadcaster continues to breach the law despite previous interventions.
Said Matonga: “What is happening at MBC is illegal. We engaged management of MBC and we were assured that they would change. They only opened up to opposition voices for a few days and now they are back to default settings.”
On his part, Kaufa said there is need for reforms on the governance structure of MBC, arguing that the appointment of both the director general and board needs to change.
One participant who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals reminded attendees of a 2004 case where the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) successfully sued MBC.
The High Court then ruled MBC had violated the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act, the Electoral Commission Act, and the Constitution by denying equal access to its facilities for all political parties.
“If you get a court order and you are successful, then MBC will have no choice but comply,” the participant argued, adding: “Having these diplomatic engagements is just a waste of time.”
Another participant, who is also coordinator for Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum (Cseif), Fryson Chodzi, linked the alleged bias to the composition of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) board.
He claimed the board is pro-ruling party and, therefore, unable or unwilling to discipline MBC.
Said Chodzi: “The alleged bias and partisanship by MBC stems directly from Macra’s board composition. If only the appointment of the Macra board was changed to include neutral individuals, then the independence of MBC could be attained.”
He further expressed concern that opposition parties, anticipating future power, also deliberately avoid amending the Communications Act to prevent its abuse.
When contacted yesterday, Minister of Information and Digitalisation Moses Kunkuyu said: “My ministry will engage MBC. MBC enjoys a big audience and impartiality is expected of them.”
When asked what actions would be taken regarding MBC’s alleged bias, Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa referred inquiries to Macra as the broadcasting regulator.
However, both Macra spokesperson Zadziko Mankhambo and MBC spokesperson Chisomo Mwamadi did not respond to questionnaires before press time.
Matonga said during their previous meeting, Misa and MCM queried MBC on some of its news content and commentaries they deemed to be biased towards the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
“We are planning to engage the MBC leadership again. So, as Misa Malawi and Media Council of Malawi, we need to bang heads and decide on the way forward,” he said.
The plan comes about a month after the two media bodies engaged the taxpayer-funded MBC on July 3 2025 to map the way forward on balance and fairness in its news and programming during the official campaign period.
In an earlier interview, MBC director general George Kasakula said MBC cannot adopt everything Misa Malawi and MCM proposed.
“Does it mean everything that we have discussed I should adopt? MBC is run by law and I am trying to comply with the law,” he said.
The Communications Act of 2016 gives MBC a crucial obligation to inform the public on electoral matters in a fair, equitable and transparent manner.
