LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-A Malawian citizen Khester Utembe is facing serious allegations that he has been posing as a journalist for online publications, including, Nyasa Times, The Maravi Post and others to demand bribes from foreign investors in exchange for dropping damaging stories.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Utembe allegedly approaches investors, particularly those involved in business, land and mining disputes, claiming to be investigating them for online publications.
He is alleged to then offer to kill or drop the story if the investor pays him money.
Both Nyasa Times and The Maravi Post have distanced itself from Utembe.
Sources both publication say Utembe is not an employee, correspondent, stringer or contributor for the online media houses, and has never been authorised to report, solicit stories, or speak on its behalf.
“Anyone who claims to be reporting for Nyasa Times should be asked to produce a valid staff ID and to confirm with the editorial office. We do not ask sources for money to drop stories,” a senior editorial source said.
The alleged scheme is said to follow a familiar pattern. Utembe allegedly contacts the investor by phone or WhatsApp, claiming he has damaging information about them.
He allegedly claims a story is already drafted and ready for publication. He then allegedly demands payment to stop publication, a classic extortion tactic known in media circles as brown envelope journalism or media blackmail.
One investor, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, told this reporter: “He told me he is a journalist for Nyasa Times and that he was going to publish a story about me. Then he said if I cooperate, he can make it disappear. I knew something was wrong.”
It is not yet clear how many investors have been approached, or how much money, if any, was paid.
No criminal charges have been confirmed against Utembe at the time of publication, and the allegations against him remain unproven.
While we could not get his side of the story, the Media Council of Malawi has since weighed in on the matter, warning news sources, businesspeople and investors to be on high alert for impostors posing as journalists.
Phillip Chinkhokwe, a senior official at the Media Council of Malawi, advised anyone approached by a person claiming to be a journalist to stop and verify before engaging further.
“Whenever someone approaches you claiming to be a journalist, do not rush to engage them or to pay anything. Always verify with the Media Council of Malawi or directly with the media house that the person claims to represent.
“A genuine journalist will not be offended by verification, and no genuine journalist will ask you for money to drop a story,” Chinkhokwe said.
He added that impostors thrive on fear and urgency, and that verification is the simplest way to expose them.
“If you verify and the person is not known by the Council or by that media house, report the matter immediately to the Council and to police. That is how we protect both the public and the credibility of journalism in Malawi,” Chinkhokwe said.
Nyasa Times and other affected publications are urging members of the public, especially foreign investors, to verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a journalist before engaging with them, and to report any demand for payment to police and to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi Chapter.
“Journalism is not for sale. No genuine journalist will ask you to pay to stop a story,” the editorial source added.
We are yet to get a comment from MISA Malawi.
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