{"id":77459,"date":"2026-04-23T20:13:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order"},"modified":"2026-04-23T20:22:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:22:25","slug":"misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order","title":{"rendered":"MISA Critiques Namalomba&#8217;s No Phone Interviews Order"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Malawi. <\/strong><\/span><b>The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi has sharply rebuked Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu Namalomba over his decision to stop granting phone interviews to journalists, warning that the move strikes at the heart of transparency and public accountability.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>MISA Malawi chairperson Golden Matonga did not mince words, describing the directive as a dangerous step backwards that risks choking the flow of information between government and citizens.<\/p>\n<p>At the center of the row is Namalomba\u2019s announcement\u2014made via Facebook\u2014that he will no longer entertain phone interviews, claiming his remarks are often distorted. But MISA says shutting the door on journalists is not a solution\u2014it is an escalation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJournalists thrive because of access to duty bearers. The ability of journalists to reach out to them is what enables clarity on various issues,\u201d Matonga said, underscoring that cutting off that access only deepens confusion rather than correcting it.<\/p>\n<p>The media body warned that restricting direct engagement undermines the very mechanism that ensures Malawians are accurately informed about government policies, decisions, and national issues. In a country already grappling with information gaps, MISA argues, the minister\u2019s stance risks widening the disconnect between leadership and the public.<\/p>\n<p>Matonga pushed back on the justification of \u201cmisrepresentation,\u201d arguing that if there are concerns about accuracy, the answer lies in engagement\u2014not avoidance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would like to see the minister and the media engage if there are issues that have pushed him to make this position. It is only through dialogue that people can understand one another,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>MISA further stressed that direct access to public officials is not a privilege for journalists\u2014but a public good that enables citizens to hold power to account.<\/p>\n<p>In a clear signal that it is ready to confront the issue head-on, MISA Malawi says it will seek an urgent engagement with Namalomba, pressing him to reverse the decision and restore open lines of communication.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMISA Malawi will engage the minister to see to it that he continues doing his job in a manner that helps the country understand government policies, as direct engagement with journalists is one of the ways that ensures effective communication,\u201d Matonga added.<\/p>\n<p>The standoff now sets up a critical test: whether the Ministry of Information will reopen access\u2014or entrench a position that critics say risks silencing scrutiny at a time when the public needs answers the most.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Malawi<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Malawi. The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi has sharply rebuked Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu Namalomba over his decision to stop granting phone interviews to journalists, warning that the move strikes at the heart of transparency and public accountability. MISA Malawi chairperson Golden Matonga did not mince words, describing the directive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":77458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-77459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MISA Critiques Namalomba&#039;s No Phone Interviews Order - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi has sharply rebuked Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu Namalo ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MISA Critiques Namalomba&#039;s No Phone Interviews Order\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi has sharply rebuked Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu Namalo ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-23T20:13:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-23T20:22:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2026\/04\/sm_1776975667.144455.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"MISA Critiques Namalomba&#8217;s No Phone Interviews Order\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-23T20:13:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-23T20:22:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order\"},\"wordCount\":418,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2026\/04\/sm_1776975667.144455.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/misa-critiques-namalombas-no-phone-interviews-order\",\"name\":\"MISA Critiques Namalomba's No Phone Interviews Order - 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