Police in Blantyre on Tuesday arrested Times Group journalist Isaac Salima for taking pictures of a commotion at the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services, forced him to delete the images and released him later.
In an interview soon after his release, the journalist said he was taken to Blantyre Police Station where officers forced him to delete the pictures he took during the commotion.
Salima said the police accused him of taking pictures at a public i n s t i t u t i on without permission.
He said: “The only crime I committed was to take pictures of their [police officers] arrival at that scene. I tried to reason with them that they are public officers and they are executing their work at a public place.
“They then took me to Wenela police in a Toyota Land Cruiser where they forced me to delete all the pictures. They then released me about 30 minutes later.”
Reacting to the matter, Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi chairperson Golden Matonga expressed shock with the police conduct.
He said Misa will engage Malawi Police Service on the matter and continue to explore legal routes to redress such cases.
When contacted, South West Region police deputy spokesperson Beatrice Mikuwa asked for more time before commenting on Salima’s arrest.
