Many hoped that Joyce Banda would unshackle Malawi’s press when she became president in April 2012 by Keith Somerville When Malawi’s former president, Bingu wa Mutharika, collapsed on April 5th 2012 at his official residence, the press went into a frenzy, expressing itself in ways it had not been allowed to for years. For 48 hours, radio stations and newspapers reported conflicting stories of Mr Mutharika’s condition, some even claiming that he was undergoing treatment at a South African hospital. A major power struggle unfolded between Mr Mutharika’s cronies, who plotted to install his brother Peter as president, and the…
