INNOCENT MPHANDE FROM MALAWI DOWA
Dream lives on for Dowa pirate radio operator
Boniface Phiri
July 3, 2015
He is currently working on his debut music video album under the banner Tecs, but 23-year-old Innocent Mphande is not new on the entertainment scene.
Mphande became popular in Khwena Village in Dowa in 2013 for his pirate radio which would entertain his community with various programmes.
Working on music video: Mphande
“My radio station presented an opportunity to my community to interact, voice out their concerns and find solutions to local problems since they struggle to be heard in the country’s general media landscape which is dominated by rich commercial broadcasters who fail to zero in on our challenges,” Mphande says.
But the radio was not licenced.
He explains that creating and operating a radio station was one of the easiest tasks he has ever undertaken in his life so far.
“After noticing that a radio receiver gets waves and signals from transmitters, I thought I could enable it to send waves if I made it work in reverse and this job took me several weeks. I combined a crude radio board and Nokia 1110 capacitors and transistors for network lines.
“This idea came from the realisation that if I could call someone from a mobile phone, it means a phone sends out waves. In the process I noticed that I had successfully disabled the FM reception in the area and the next task was to find out how I could send out voice. This was done within two weeks. I was then able to play music and do some outside broadcasting,” says Mphande.
Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) officials tracked down the underground radio station’s signal to a rooftop of a windowless, grass-thatched mud hut in Mphande’s village in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Dzoole in Dowa. They seized the transmitting equipment.
“I think the radio was worth it. People now believe that we can create something in this community. People used to enjoy my radio station because it was the only one that specifically broadcast to T/A Dzoole’s area. Many were happy to listen to themselves on the radio during recorded programmes.
“The station also gave life to the area’s social gatherings such as weddings, which I used to cover just for fun using my simple home-made outside broadcast equipment,” states the Form Three drop out.
But despite the clamp down on his initiative by Macra, Mphande says his dream of owning a radio station still lives on.
“Opening a radio station is not a big deal, but I want to respect the laws of the country.
“In future, I would like to own an electronics company to make DVD players, mobile phones and radios because I have discovered that Malawi has precious stones that are used in making diodes, capacitors and transistors.
“Currently, I am able to get a plywood, draw lines and connect wires to make a simple radio receiver and I am also into phone and computer repairing, although I do not have any professional training,” says the multi-talented Mphande.
Nonetheless the county’s communication laws are firm against operating a radio station without a licence.
“This could cause serious communication problems such as interference with other radio stations’ signals as well as aircraft and aviation frequencies in the area,” said Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture Kondwani Nankhumwa recently while launching Hope Television Station.
Macra is responsible for licencing broadcasting services in the country. It also monitors broadcasting stations and enforces rules and regulations as contained in the licences.
Licensing of broadcasting services is determined by the need for such services in a specific area.
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