Capital Radio Malawi is a radio station in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

that was launched on 29 March 1999 by journalist Alaudin Osman. The station broadcasts across all three regions of Malawi, and covers the urban centers of

Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...

, Zomba,

Lilongwe Lilongwe (, , ) is the capital and most populated city of the African country of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020 that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in th ...

, Dedza

Mangochi Mangochi is a township in the Southern Region of Malawi. Located near the southern end of Lake Malawi, in colonial times it used to be called Fort Johnston. As of 2018 it has a population of 53,498. History Mangochi was founded by colonial adm ...

and

Mzuzu Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city by population in Malawi. The city has 221,272 residents and 20,000 commuters (Mzuzu University students) with about 1.7 million people in its metropolitan area. It i ...

. Programming follows an Adult Contemporary format, including various musical genres, news, information and entertainment. The bulk of content is news, business, music and entertainment programming. Its mission is to inform, entertain and uplift the people of Malawi by providing reliable news and quality programmes. In May 2004, the director of Capital Radio told the

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

news agency that four of its reporters had been arrested for broadcasting an "inflammatory interview" with opposition spokesperson Kholiwe Mkandawire. On 20 September 2005, Capital Radio Malawi challenged the Protected Emblems and Names Act of 1967, which limits media freedom in Malawi. On 14 September 2005, police arrested opposition leader

Gwanda Chakuamba Gwandaguluwe "Gwanda" Chakuamba Phiri (4 April 1934 – 24 October 2016) was a Malawian politician who was the leader of the New Republican Party (NRP). He hailed from Nsanje, a district on the southern part of Malawi. Gwanda Chakuamba attended Z ...

for violating this law at a political rally where he allegedly insulted President

Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika (; born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom; 24 February 1934 – 5 April 2012) was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democ ...

. Capital Radio had broadcast his speech live. Al Osman asked his lawyers to lodge an appeal with the High Court asking it to declare the legislation unconstitutional. On 22 February 2009, Capital Radio broadcast an interview with

Bakili Muluzi Elson Bakili Muluzi (born March 17, 1943 in Machinga, Nyasaland) is a Malawian politician who was the first freely elected president of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. He was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded ...

, who accused the government of using intimidation against his presidential candidacy and warned that such conduct could lead to "problems". Of late, Capital Radio has been interviewing political party leaders and cabinet ministers under the

Lazarus Chakwera Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera (born 5 April 1955) is a Malawian theologian and politician who has served as President of Malawi since June 2020. In addition to the Presidency, he also serves as Defence minister, Minister of Defence per Malawian cons ...

administration. Many have been taken to task over how they are failing to fulfill the promises the Tones Alliance made to Malawians before coming into power.

Straight Talk

Capital Radio's ''Straight Talk'' is a popular program where movers and shakers in society can air their views. In April 2010, their program included an interview with Deputy Minister in the Office of President and Cabinet, Nicholas Dausi. Dausi talked at length, but despite close questioning was evasive about his role in the government. Speaking in January 2011 on ''Straight Talk'',

George Chaponda George T. Chaponda (born 1 November 1942) is a Malawian career diplomat and politician who served as Malawi's Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development from 2016 to 2017. He is a founding member of the ruling Democratic Progres ...

, Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, said the Air Fouling legislation in the proposed Local Courts bill banned

farting Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the Gastrointestinal tract, intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas m ...

in public places. After the story made headlines in the world press, he was forced to retract this statement. In February 2011, Alaudin Osman, who is also the Executive member of the Media Council of Malawi and Chairman of NICO, signed an agreement with the government in which the media committed to refrain from reporting stories that would destroy the image and credibility of the country.

References

{{Coord, -13.9566, 33.7539, type:landmark, display=title Radio stations in Malawi