MCP Brushes Aside Unethical Reporting

By: Andrew Cane Chilapondwa

The country’s main opposition party, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has brushed aside unprofessional reporting by some media houses in Malawi.

Some of those media houses reported that the much anticipated political rally at Nyambabwe ground in Blantyre on Sunday afternoon was attended by less than 500 people.

The rally was attended by the party’s president Lazarus Chakwera, speaker of parliament Richard Msosoya and Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) leader Enoch Chihana, MAFUNDE leader George N’nesa and Peoples Progressive Movement (PPM) leader Mark Katsonga and senior executive members.

However, the rally has received bad publicity from some media houses who reported that the rally was only patronised by less than 500 people who then concluded that MCP was  rebuffed by Southern Region.

But reacting to the reports, the party’s Deputy Spokesperson Ezekiel Ching’oma blasted unprofessional reporting by the media houses saying the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is just afraid of MCP for holding such a successful rally in Ndirande.

“The DPP camp is panicking seeing that MCP had a very successful rally at Nyambadwe grounds. Taking into account that this is not election time and that MCP has no MP in Blantyre it’s a cause for worry to DPP seeing Dr Chakwera addressing a successful rally in Ndirande,” he said.

Ching’oma then urged all media houses in Malawi to refrain from erroneous reporting citing.

“Some media institutions are circulating photos that were taken early in the morning, lying to the nation, through the social media that it was the real attendance of people at the rally. If one wants a real picture of how the attendance was, they should take and show a picture at the climax of the rally, and on Nyambadwe rally one would really tell that people welcomed Dr Chakwera in Blantyre,” he concluded.

During the rally, Chakwera lambasted Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika for politicising the MPS which is a public body and having his (Mutharika’s) critics arrested by the Malawi Police Service.

This follows the arrest of two people in Lilongwe and Machinga for allegedly insulting Mutharika for the current hunger and economic crisis being experienced in Malawi.

The party continues to make strides in establishing itself in the Southern Region having performed unsatisfactorily during the 2014 tripartite general elections where DPP claimed victory to ascend back to power.