By: Draxon Maloya.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – State owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) quickly suspended four journalists for their role in a story that erroneously described the state president as ‘late Professor Peter Mutharika’.
The report that had gone viral on Thursday night was done by MBC’s Lilongwe reporter Mwai Mtumodzi when he was rounding up the official visit of the Tanzanian president, John Magufuli’s visit to Malawi where inside the report the journalist erroneously described the statue as of former late president Bingu wa Mutharika as that belonging to ‘the late Professor Peter Mutharika’.
The two names have been confusing people as the two brothers were both professors and both also became Malawi presidents.
The journalists who have been sent on suspension include the author of the news Mwai Mtumodzi, Chief News Editor Waliko Makhala, News Producer Austin Fukula and Wesyslas Chirwa.
According to the suspension letters dated 26TH April 2019 signed by the Director of Administration, Gift Nyambalo which News of the South got a copy, the four journalists are accused in various ways for allowing such kind of material to be aired on state broadcaster.
“The management has noted with deep concern that the presidential story report that you approved for airing on the television channel on Thursday25th April 2019 had very serious factual errors.
“We find the report to be most unprofessional and it shows carelessness on your part allowing such kind of a report to go on air undetected” reads the letter.
The suspension of these four reporters comes barely a few days after the presidential running mate Everton Chimlirenji and the presidential advisor on the youth Vuwa Kaunda also described the ‘late Professor Mutharika’ instead of the late Bingu wa Mutharika.
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