Search other staff
Profile
Research Areas
Digital Rights, Journalism, New Media, Freedom of Expression, Access to Information, Media and Communication Policy and Regulation, Intersection between Media and democracy,
Profile
Jimmy Kainja is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malawi and a PhD candidate at the University of Witwatersrand. He has over ten years of experience teaching Media, Communication, and Cultural Studies. He holds a BSc in Media Studies and an MRes in Media and Communication from London Metropolitan University. He is an adjunct research fellow at the Institute of Public Opinion and Research. He has published widely on media and communications policy, journalism, digital rights, freedom of expression, access to information, and the intersection of media, democracy, and development. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and books, and he is a co-editor of the volume The BBC's Legacy in Africa: Continuities and Change and a co-author of the forthcoming monograph Communication for Social Change in Sub-Saharan Africa: Amplifying the Marginalised Voices.
Publications
- Journal Article
Kainja, J. (2026). Surveillance, privacy, and civil society: The struggle for digital rights in Malawi. African Human Rights Law Journal, 25, pp. 913-931. (2025)
https://www.ahrlj.up.ac.za/kainja-j
- Book
Sharra, A., Kainja, J., & Gunde, A.M. (Eds.). (2025). The BBC's Legacy in Africa: Continuities and Change (1st ed.). Routledge. (2025)
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003616184/bbc-legacy-africa-albert-sharra-jimmy-kainja-anthony-mavuto-gunde
- Book Chapters
Kainja, J. (2025). State surveillance in Malawi: Changes and continuities. In T. Roberts & A. Mare (Ed.). Digital Surveillance in Africa: Power, Agency, and Rights (pp. 113–132). London: Zed Books. (2025)
https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-detail?docid=b-9781350422117&pdfid=9781350422117.ch-5.pdf&tocid=b-9781350422117-chapter5
- Book Chapters
Sharra, A., Kainja, J., & Gunde, A.M. (2025). Decolonising the African Radio: Prospects and Challenges. In Sharra, A., Kainja, J., & Gunde, A.M. (Eds.). (2025). The BBC's Legacy in Africa: Continuities and Change (1st ed.). Routledge. (2025)
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003616184-13/conclusion-albert-sharra-jimmy-kainja-anthony-mavuto-gunde
- Book Chapters
Sharra, A., Kainja, J., & Gunde, A.M. (2025). The BBC's Legacy in Africa. In Sharra, A., Kainja, J., & Gunde, A.M. (Eds.). (2025). The BBC's Legacy in Africa: Continuities and Change (1st ed.). Routledge. (2025)
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003616184-1/introduction-albert-sharra-jimmy-kainja-anthony-mavuto-gunde
- Book Chapters
Sharra, A., Kainja, J., & Gunde, A.M. (2025). Torn Between Multiple Interests: Correspondents and the BBC Legacy in Africa. In Sharra, A., Kainja, J., & Gunde, A.M. (Eds.). (2025). The BBC's Legacy in Africa: Continuities and Change (1st ed.). Routledge. (2025)
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003616184-4/torn-multiple-interests-albert-sharra-jimmy-kainja-anthony-mavuto-gunde
- Book Chapters
Ndasauka, Y., Kainja, J. & Harawa, E. (2025). Fostering Mental Health Dialogue through Participatory Performance in Mangochi, Malawi. In Chisiza, Z. (Ed.). (2025). Theatre and Media for Social Change in Malawi (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003648437 (2025)
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003648437-7/fostering-mental-health-dialogue-participatory-performance-mangochi-malawi-yamikani-ndasauka-jimmy-kainja-esther-harawa?utm_source=researchgate.net&utm_medium=article
- Book Chapters
Kainja, J. (2025) 'Digital-ID in Malawi: Country Report', in 'G. Sesan and T. Roberts (eds), Biometric Digital-ID in Africa: Progress and Challenges to Date - Ten Country Case Studies, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2025.061 (2025)
https://figshare.com/articles/chapter/Digital-ID_in_Malawi_Country_Report/30763145
- Journal Article
Ndasauka, Y., & Kainja, J. (2024). Stewards or Manipulators? Knowledge Brokers’ Complex Positionality in Combating the COVID-19 Infodemic in Malawi. African Journalism Studies, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/23743670.2024.2341923 (2024)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23743670.2024.2341923
- Journal Article
Maliwichil, L., Fiskani Kondowe, F., Mmanga, C., Mchenga, M., Kainja, J., Nyamali, S. & Ndasauka, Y. (2024) The mental health toll among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Malawi. Sci Rep 14, 10327. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61216-x (2024)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-61216-x#citeas
- Journal Article
Mchenga, M., Ndasauka, Y., Kondowe, F., Kainja, J., Maliwichi, L., & Nyamali, S. (2024). Mental health is just an Addendum: Assessing stakeholder’s perceptions on COVID-19 and mental health services provision in Malawi. PLOS ONE, 19(6), e0305341. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305341 (2024)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0305341
- Journal Article
Kainja, J., Makhumula, C., Twabi, H. S., Gunde, A. M., & Ndasauka, Y. (2024). Cultural determinants of COVID-19 vaccines misinformation in Malawi. Palgrave Communications, 11(1), 1-6. (2024)
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41599-024-03743-6
- Book Chapters
Foster Gondwe, Jimmy Kainja, Yamikani Ndasauka (2024) The Complex Interplay of Technology and Mental Health During COVID-19 (2024)
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003425861-20/complex-interplay-technology-mental-health-covid-19-foster-gondwe-jimmy-kainja-yamikani-ndasauka
- Book Chapters
Kainja J (2024). Outsourcing Repression: Impunity and Harassment of Journalists in Malawi (2024)
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781032697604-13/outsourcing-repression-jimmy-kainja?context=ubx
- Journal Article
Mmanga C, Ndasauka Y, Kainja J, Kondowe F, Mchenga M, Maliwichi L and Nyamali S (2023) The world is coming to an end! COVID-19, depression, and anxiety among adolescents in Malawi. Front. Psychiatry 13:1024793. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1024793. (2023)
- Journal Article
Kainja, J (2023) Legal and Policy Gaps Affecting Digital Rights in Malawi. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jh.v31i1.1 (2023)
- Book Chapters
Anthony M Gunde; Jimmy Kainja (2023) Digital Technologies, Elections and Campaigns in Malawi (2023)
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003429081-10/social-media-use-impact-malawi-2020-presidential-election-anthony-gunde-jimmy-kainja
- Journal Article
Kainja, J. (2022) The Media and Freedom of Expression in Democratic Malawi: A Formality or Reality? In: Adeola, A., Mutua, M.W. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Democracy, Governance and Justice in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74014-6_15 (2022)
- Journal Article
Kainja J, Ndasauka Y, Mchenga M, Kondowe F, M'manga C, Maliwichi L, Nyamali S. (2022) Umunthu, Covid-19 and mental health in Malawi. Heliyon. 2022 Oct 31;8(11):e11316. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11316. PMID: 36353175; PMCID: PMC9638767. (2022)
- Book Chapters
Kainja, J. (2021) Media Education, Democratisation and Media Capture at Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. In: Manthalu, C.H., Chikaipa, V., & Gunde, A.M. (eds). Education, Communication and Democracy in Africa: A Democratic Pedagogy for the Future (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003125440 (2021)
- Journal Article
Heyns, C., Tlakula, P., Fombad, C, and Kainja, J. (2019) The Right to Political Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa, Global Journal of Comparative Law. Vol. 8, Issue 2, p: 128-161. DIO: 10.1163/2211906X-00802202. (2019)
- Journal Article
Allcock, A. & Kainja, J. (2011) Reimagining 21st Century Development in Malawi: Generating and Sharing Knowledge Beyond the Traditional Establishment. IDS Bulletin, Vol. 42 (5): 99-103. Wiley-Blackwell. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-5436.2011.00259.x (2011)
