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The Media and Freedom of Expression in Democratic Malawi: A Formality or Reality?


Author(s) : Jimmy Kainja
The Palgrave Handbook of Democracy, Governance and Justice in Africa
4
Citations (scopus)

Abstract


Malawi became a one-party dictatorship soon after its independence from Britain in 1964. Internal and external pressure for political reforms forced President Hastings Kamuzu Banda to call for a referendum, allowing Malawians to decide the political system they wanted. In 1993 Malawians voted in favour of multiparty democracy, this was followed by general elections in 1994, which Banda lost to Bakili Muluzi. Chapter IV (Bill of Rights) of the country’s new democratic constitution guarantees human rights, including media freedoms. This chapter argues that despite the constitutional guarantees, media freedoms remain elusive in the country due to regulatory flaws and economic hardships facing the country’s media institutions and journalists. This chapter uses key informant interviews with media managers from the country’s leading print and broadcasting houses. The chapter is guided by the political economy of the media approach. This approach analyses how power relations between politics, the regulation and economics shape media content.


Original language en
Pages (from-to) 279-293
Publication status Published - 2022

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10.1007/978-3-030-74014-6_15

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https://www.springer.com/tdm
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Access document

10.1007/978-3-030-74014-6_15

License

https://www.springer.com/tdm