station to revoke licences of radio stations that were breaching their licence provisions. The communications regulating body says now it shall be advertising for prospective licensees to apply and licenses shall be issued to successful bidders in compliance with the Communications Act. Before this development, prospective licensees used to apply to MACRA which could then grant a license to broadcast. Currently there are two radio stations and one TV station which were allocated frequencies but have never rolled out and owe MACRA close to K2.5 million (US$17,000) for broadcast and licence fees. There are 13 private radio stations in Malawi and MACRA has warned that it shall punish all stations that fail to inform and seek its permission in advance before any live broadcast. It further warns radio stations against hate messages being aired out various broadcasting stations. • ALERT Date: March 25, 2007 Persons: Joy Radio station Violation: Bombed (vandalised) Joy Radio was attacked by five unidentified thugs for broadcasting live events from a meeting that was supposed to be addressed by the former president Bakili Muluzi, who is also United Democratic Front national chairman. According to Joy Radio station manager, Peter Chisale, the thugs came around 3.00pm when state president, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika was addressing a rally just less than five kilometres from the station and queried why the radio station was broadcasting live events from a rally that was to be held 80 kilometres away. “They beat up a security guard, tearing his uniform in the process. They also pelted stones but fortunately there was no damage caused. The thugs fled when the guard blew his whistle to alert us,” Chisale said. Bakili Muluzi owns Joy Radio and is bidding for a come back to the presidency. Earlier, the former president had obtained a court injunction restraining the police from stopping his rally and mounting roadblocks on roads leading to the venue of the rally. Management of the radio reported the matter to Blantyre Police Station but no arrest has been made and no officer visited the scene. • ALERT Date: March 21, 2007 Persons: Kazembe Kayira, Peter Mulinde Violation: Detained, censored On March 21 2007, Police detailed Kazembe Kayira, a photojournalist working for Montfort Media, for taking pictures at a presidential function. His camera was also confiscated. Kayira was arrested around 12h00 during a presidential whistle-stop tour in a Southern district of Balaka and was taken to the police station without explanation. The Police later released him after four hours after charging him with the offence of “taking pictures without the knowledge of the authority” as the police officers were waiting for further instructions from their seniors. The Police also returned the camera they seized after screening all the pictures Kayira had taken and found none that posed a threat to the presidential security. Kayira suspected that he might have been arrested because he took pictures of the President’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) youth allegedly fighting over T-shirts and was cautioned by some five police officers before the presidential convoy arrived not to publish any pictures that would portray a negative image about the function. Kayira becomes a second person to be arrested for taking pictures of the presidential convoy within a period of one week. On March 16, police also arrested Peter Mulinde a photographer for taking pictures of the presidential envoy when the president was coming from Ghana. Two So This Is Democracy? 2007 -51- Media Institute of Southern Africa