HAS THE NATION SOLD ITS SOUL TO MUTHARIKA?

There was a time when a newspaper stood as a fearless watchdog, barking at power and biting anyone who dared to treat Malawians like fools. 

Today, if you pick up The Nation , you will be forgiven for thinking you have bought a publicity brochure paid for by Arthur Peter Mutharika’s political team. 

Look closely at the front pages screaming off the newsstands: “APM RATES FIRST YEAR A SUCCESS”, “APM BREAKS FUEL IMPASSE”, and “NPL’S ONE YEAR VERDICT: APM SCORES 62.2%”. It is shameless, embarrassing, and outright insulting to the intelligence of every citizen suffering on the streets. How can a paper that once commanded deep respect suddenly turn into a choirboy singing sweet lullabies to power while the country bleeds?

Let us speak the truth without dressing it up in polite words. When a national newspaper prints headlines claiming that the administration’s first year is a grand success and awards a cozy 62.2% score, it is not doing journalism; it is doing public relations for the ruling elite. While ordinary Malawians line up for hours at gas stations, stay in their homes without electricity and water, no drugs in hospitals, businesses struggle to get forex,battle sky high food prices, and watch the kwacha tumble into a bottomless pit, The Nation  wants us to clap hands and pretend we are living in paradise.

They tell us APM has single handedly broken fuel shortages, as if splashing a shiny picture on the front page puts petrol into empty car tanks. They want us to applaud him like a hero rushing in to save the day, as if APM was completely blind, deaf, and clueless while national reserves were draining to zero right under his own nose. Was he sleeping at State House while the tanks ran dry, only to suddenly wake up, break an impasse he created through sheer negligence, and demand a round of applause? A competent leader monitors the national reserves and acts before a crisis paralyzes the country, rather than staging a cheap rescue operation after setting the house on fire. To paint negligence as heroics is not reporting; it is pure, unadulterated sycophancy.

What happened to the sharp, uncompromising pen that once made corrupt politicians sweat in their air conditioned offices? 

It seems the editorial board gathered in a quiet room, threw away their professional pride, and decided that singing praises pays better than speaking truth. They serve us glossy headlines praising the President, while burying real crisis stories down in small, hidden corners. When the government fails, a true newspaper exposes the rot; it does not paint over the cracks with gold leaf and pretend the house is not falling down.

Every morning, Malawians wake up to the harsh reality of empty pockets, dark homes during endless power cuts, and bare shelves in public hospitals. Yet, when you open the pages of The Nation, you are met with a completely different fantasy world where everything is rosy, smooth, and perfectly managed. 

They manufacture high pass marks out of thin air to make a failing government look like a team of miracle workers. It makes one wonder if the editors live in the same country as the rest of us, or if their glasses are tinted so heavily with party colors that they can no longer see the tears of the common man.

To make matters worse, look at how they handle anyone who dares to step out of line or speak uncomfortable truths.

The moment a critic, an independent voice, or a public official dares to point out the rot, The Nation immediately sharpens its knives to protect the crown. Look at their front page screaming: “STAKEHOLDERS SLAM SULEMAN”. Whenever someone speaks up for the ordinary people, the paper rushes to find disgruntled voices to attack them, framing any truth teller as the villain while keeping the rulers on an untouchable pedestal. 

If you praise the leadership, you get a heroic front page photo with a gold star; if you speak the truth, you get slammed, smeared, and thrown to the wolves.

This level of bias is a betrayal of the public trust. Readers do not buy newspapers to read love letters written to politicians; they buy them to get the unfiltered truth. 

When a news organization sacrifices its voice just to stay in the good books of those in power, it surrenders its very soul.

The Nation has turned itself into a lapdog that wags its tail every time APM looks its way, forgetting that its duty is to the poor, struggling Malawians who cannot afford to buy the propaganda they print.

If this is what The Nation has become, then let them be honest enough to drop the title of an independent newspaper and officially sign up as the ruling party’s mouthpiece. 

Malawians are not stupid. We see the long lines, we feel the hunger, and we know the reality on the ground. No amount of exaggerated scores, inflated praise, or shiny front page headlines will hide the truth: The Nation has traded its integrity for a seat at the master’s table, leaving the people to choke on their empty promises.