Country Reports Snapshots • • • assaulted journalists on August 25, 2023. The assault happened after the Super League of Malawi (SULOM) match between the club and Extreme FC at Bingu National Stadium (BNS). The then head coach, Hedrikus Pieter De Jong, verbally attacked journalists, while the club’s supporters assaulted Kasupe Radio reporter Smart Chalika On September 15, 2023, a group of Mzuzu University students manhandled Nation Publications Limited (NPL) reporter Jonathan Pasungwi took his phone and deleted all the pictures for reporting on their demonstrations against fee hike. On November 20, 2023, police officers arrested journalist Noel Mkwaila around the Independence Arch in Blantyre. They detained him at Blantyre Police Station for allegedly taking pictures of their arrest of minibus touts at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) stage. On November 30, 2023, police in Mangochi deleted pictures from the phone belonging to Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) reporter Raphael Mlozoa. The incident happened during the running battles between the police and some protesters, who turned violent during the demonstrations that a grouping calling itself ‘Malawi First’ organised in the district. Restricted online expression Police continued arresting ordinary Facebook and WhatsApp users for allegedly contravening the Cyber Security and Electronic Transactions Act of 2016. Arrests based on online expression have a negative impact on freedom of expression as they also instil fear in people and limit free expression. 24 Lip-service on access to Information. In 2023, access to relevant information and the overall implementation of the Access to Information Act remained problematic. Critics now argue that government pronouncements on access to information are nothing more than lip service. The Human Rights Commission (HRC), which is the oversight body on access to information, remains chronically underfunded and cannot effectively carry out its functions as provided for in the law. The Ministry of Information and Digitalisation also delayed publishing the names of information officers in public bodies, only doing so on December 20, 2023. It is important to note that this is the first time the ministry has done so since the Act was operationalised in September 2020. All these developments are in direct contrast to the frequent government assurances on access to information, transparency, and accountability. In 2020, the government introduced regular presidential press conferences to improve access to information. The press conferences were regular from 2020 to mid2022. In 2023, they were abruptly stopped, which many consider a sharp reversal in efforts to make the presidency more accessible and accountable to Malawians. The past couple of years saw the devaluation of the Malawian kwacha against major currencies, particularly the US dollar. This had an adverse effect on broadcasters, as broadcast licence fees are pegged to the American dollar. The COVID-19 pandemic heavily hit broadcasters, and while they were still trying to get back on their feet, they are now faced with astronomical licence fees. www.misa.org