African Media Barometer MALAWI 2012 Summary Malawi can be separated into two distinct periods since the last AMB in 2010 and analysts jokingly describe this as the pre Banda era and the post Mutharika era. The sudden death of President Binga wa Mutharika in April 2012 initially put Malawi in a tailspin as there was uncertainty about who would take over power. According to Section 83 (4) of the Republican Constitution: Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of President, the First Vice-President shall assume that office for the remainder of the term and shall appoint another person to serve as First Vice-President for the remainder of the term. However this was not a clear cut decision, as two years prior to his death, President Mutharika had expelled Vice President Joyce Banda from the ruling Democratic People’s Party (DPP) after a row over succession. The president had chosen his brother, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mutharika, as DPP’s presidential candidate for the 2014 elections. The contestation for who would take over power was resolved within 48 hours as the country took up the provision in the Constitution and appointed Vice President Banda as head of state. Almost immediately upon taking up office, President Banda instituted changes that reversed the controversial policies and actions of her predecessor, which immediately prompted donors and the international community to pledge resumption of financial aid. Under the leadership of former President Mutharika, freedom of expression was severely restricted as he clamped down heavily on dissenting voices by way of threats, assaults and even arrests. He was particularly hard on activists, members of the opposition and the media. “There was fear and intimidation and the government tried to suppress any criticism, but a few brave people continued to speak out.” During his second term in office, Malawi’s economy went into serious decline as he refused to devalue the kwacha and instead opted for a fixed exchange rate and pegged the Malawi Kwacha to the United States Dollar. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MALAWI 2012 7