The High Court in Blantyre has ordered Blantyre Newspaper Limited, Times Group and others to compensate former Agriculture Minister George Chaponda with MK50 million for Maizegate stories.
In 2017, Chaponda took legal action against Blantyre Newspapers Limited and some of its employees over stories its newspapers published in connection to the maizegate scandal.
Chaponda sued Times Group Editor In-Chief George Kasakula, The Daily Times Editor Innocent Chitosi, Sunday Times Editor Chachacha Munthali, Times Reporter Alick Ponje and The Daily Times Assistant Editor Madalitso Musa.
Blantyre Newspapers Limited which publishes Daily Times, Malawi Newspapers, and Sunday Times reported extensively on the maize procurement deal from Zambia.
In a court order signed by High Court Deputy Registrar Innocent Nebi dated November 3, 2023, the court observes that: “the conduct of the defendant, the defendant’s stance has been that it published the articles in exercise of its media freedom until the Court found them in the wrong in respect of 6 articles”.
“In the judgment from which these assessment proceedings emanate, the Honourable Judge directed that the damages awarded should not be huge damages which will end up bankrupting the defendants since responsible media freedom is necessary in a democracy as it calls on public servants to account and the media must be protected by the law and the courts.
“The claimant proposed that he be compensated with a sum of K350, 000,000.00 while the defendant proposed that a sum of K5, 000,000.00 would be adequate. All else taken into consideration the Court forms the view that a sum of K50, 000,000.00 would be adequate to compensate the claimant. It is accordingly awarded to him. Made in Chambers this 3rd day of November 2023 at Blantyre”.
Reacting to the ruling, Chaponda expressed relief saying the verdict should set as a lesson to other media houses who carried their stories without facts or balancing.
The Mulanje South-West lawmaker added that this should serve as a lesson to “Malawians that we should love one another and avoid cooking lies with the aim of denting other people’s image”.
Case background
In his summons, Chaponda found fault in the Malawi News issue of 28th January to 3rd February 2017 claiming some of the defendants falsely and maliciously wrote and printed and published or caused to be written defamatory words of and concerning him.
In the summons for the civil case, Chaponda also claimed that The Sunday Times positioned his picture against the headline “Epitome of Decadence” on an opinion article which was calculated to portray him as a morally rotten person.
Chaponda expressed concern that his “image and reputation as a public official and individual has been lowered and brought into public scandal, Odium and contempt.”
Chaponda sought damages for libel, exemplary and aggravated damages for libel and legal costs.
However, Times through its the then Group Editor-in-Chief Kasakula vowed to meet Chaponda in court saying the media house stands by all its stories on the maize scandal.
“We have done nothing wrong. We firmly believe in telling Malawians how badly they are being governed and how badly their affairs on food are being managed by those they entrusted with power,” said Kasakula who is now director general for Malawi Broadcasting Corporation.
Chaponda was sacked as Agriculture Minister and arrested on July 19, 2017 alongside businessperson Rashid Tayub of Transglobe Produce Limited and businessperson and chairperson of Grain Traders and Processors Association of Malawi (GTPA) Grace Mijiga-Mhango in connection with the Zambian maize procurement transaction.
The ex-diplomat fought the case – popularly referred to as maize-gate – in the courts on grounds that he did not in any way engage in corrupt dealings with the middlemen – Kaloswe – during the purchase process.
Following several court appearances and a commission inquiry into the issue, Chaponda was acquitted by the Zomba Magistrate Court in June 2020 but after he had been relieved of his portfolio as agriculture minister.
Eventually, a High Court ruling by Judge Dingiswayo Madise, on February 28, 2022 ordered Blantyre Newspapers Limited (Times Group) newspapers to apologise to Chaponda and withdraw the articles and that that the apology should be published on the front pages of Times Newspapers within the next 10 days.
The ruling, among others, urged the fair disbursement of media freedom.
Reads the judgement in part: “No one should injure the reputation of other people under the guise of fair comment and media freedom. I, therefore, order the defendants who authored those articles if still in employment to withdraw the articles so cited and apologise sincerely to the claimant on the front pages of all the papers involved in this case within 10 days.”
According to the judgment, the front page must not carry any other article apart from the apology ordered.
Adds the judgment: “The claimant is entitled to monetary damages and l order the registrar to assess damages taking into account the apology that the defendant will make. It is not in the interest of this court to order huge damages which will end up bankrupting the defendants.”
Madise’s judgment reminded the media that responsible media freedom was necessary in a democracy as it calls on public servants to account and that must be protected by the law and the courts.
But as of Sunday, March 13, 2022 – days after the court-issued deadline – the media house had not complied to the order of publicly apologizing to the embattled minister.
Meanwhile, Times Group has paid the compensation to Chaponda.
