BY DRAXON MALOYA

The Malawi Police Service has come under heavy criticism following the arrest of an investigative reporter at Platform for Investigative Journalism, Gregory Gondwe.

On Tuesday morning, Police in Blantyre stormed offices of the Platform for Investigative Journalism in Malawi and seized some gadgets belonging to its journalists.

During the raid, Police demanded Investigative journalist, Gregory Gondwe to reveal where he got the information which he used in one of his investigative pieces against Zuneth Sattar.

The story in question exposed how government recently paid Zuneth Sattar’s entities despite Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda issuing a ban on the same.

Gondwe’s colleague Golden Matonga told this publication that the police put Gondwe under arrest and took away his phones adding that his whereabouts were unknown at that time.

Meanwhile, Journalist Gregory Gondwe has been released by police following the heavy criticism from different sections of the society including the general public.

Both, Media Institute of Southern Africa-Malawi and Human Rights Defenders Coalition issued statements calling for unconditional release of the investigative journalist.

Just before Gondwe’s release police issued a statement informing Malawians that they should always be in the know, that the service has the mandate of inviting individuals deemed important to help in an investigation and such a scenario, it does not always mean that the interviewee is arrested.

“It has to be put in a right context therefore, that when the interview session is over Mr. Gregory Gondwe will be allowed to return home adding that MPS assures Malawians of professional standards by its police officers in crime investigation,” reads part of the police statement.

Meanwhile, journalists across the country are planning to hold demonstration to express their displeasure with continued media oppression, impunity and police brutality violating press freedoms enshrined in the republican Constitution.