Malawi’s Constitutional Court has reversed a decision by Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) to ban phone-in programmes hosted by all private radio stations.

In 2019 the regulator imposed the ban prior to the presidential and general elections.

Subsequently the National Media Institute of Southern Africa (Namisa), Times Group and Zodiak Broadcasting are included in a list of media houses that took legal action against the ban, claiming it violated freedom of expression and of the press.

The Constitutional Court has now ruled the ban as “illegal and irregular”, adding that former MACRA director general Godfrey Itaye had no powers to impose the ban.

Judge Chifundo Kachale lambasted Itaye and ordered MACRA to pay all costs related to the case.

“The director general of MACRA is not empowered to make decisions on behalf of the authority (board). The director general is for the day-to- day running of MACRA administration and not to make policy decisions like he did. Even when there is provision for delegation, there was no evidence of such delegation in the present case,” Kachale ruled.

Zodiak managing director Gospel Kazako said: “It is so pleasing that the court has ruled in our favour as we have an obligation to provide a platform for the society to express themselves because freedom of expression in not negotiable.”

In May 2020 Malawian authorities removed Itaye from office and reassigned him to the Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC).