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Articles - Zambia

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Zambia

Government regulation of media ethics limits free press

In a recent mission to Zambia, the International Press Institute (IPI) called on the government to refrain from trying to control the press and urged the media to monitor its own ethical breaches. IPI delegates met with journalists from most of Lusaka's major media houses, representatives from journalists' organisations and unions, and representatives from the U.S. embassy and the United Nations.

Zambia

NIEGAN A CIUDADANOS DERECHO A ACCEDER A INFORMACIÓN

Zambia

DES CITOYENS SE VOIENT NIER LEUR DROIT D'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION

Zambia

CITIZENS DENIED RIGHT TO ACCESS INFORMATION

The Zambian government has rejected a proposal to guarantee citizens the right to access public information as part of a new constitution being drafted for the country, report the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) and ARTICLE 19.

Zambia

LE GOUVERNEMENT MET LA PRESSE AU PAS À LA VEILLE DES ÉLECTIONS

Zambia

GOBIERNO INICIA OFENSIVA CONTRA PRENSA EN PERIODO PREVIO A ELECCIONES

Zambia

GOVERNMENT CRACKS DOWN ON PRESS AHEAD OF ELECTIONS

A recent string of press freedom violations suggest that the Zambian government is cracking down on the independent media in advance of elections later this year, according to reports from the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI). These incidents include the arrest of the editor-in-chief of the country's only independent newspaper and the closing of a private radio station.

Zambia

UN JOURNALISTE ANGOLAIS EST TROUVÉ MORT DANS LE ZAMBÈZE

Zambia

PERIODISTA ANGOLEÑO ENCONTRADO MUERTO EN RÍO ZAMBEZI

Zambia

ANGOLAN JOURNALIST FOUND DEAD IN ZAMBEZI RIVER

An Angolan journalist was found dead on 3 October in the Zambezi River near the town of Senanga in western Zambia, according to reports from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). Antonio Paciencia, an editor at state-operated Radio Nacional de Angola (RNA), had disappeared on 30 September during a media tour of refugee camps in western Zambia which are home to around 180,000 Angolan refugees. The media tour was organized and hosted by representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The circumstances surrounding Paciencia's death remain unclear and are being investigated by Zambian police. According to RSF, the chief police inspector said the "body was found intact with no sign of injuries. We suspect suicide but things can change after gathering more evidence."

Zambia

AMENAZAN CAPÍTULO DE MISA

Zambia

UNE SECTION LOCALE DU MISA EST MENACÉE

Zambia

MISA CHAPTER THREATENED

On 2 February, the Zambian Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Newstead Zimba threatened to take "drastic action" against the Media Institute of Southern Africa's (MISA) Zambian chapter, the Zambia Independent Media Association (ZIMA), and the Inter-African Network for Human Rights and Development (AFRONET). Accusing the organisations of being "agents of foreign sponsors," Zimba stated that ZIMA and AFRONET have "betrayed" the nation and the government. The attack comes in response to the organisations' claim that Zimba's "ministry had influenced the decision of Radio Phoenix to cancel the phone-in programme "Let the People Talk", which focused on a strike and subsequent dismissal of junior doctors in Lusaka and Kitwe." ZIMA's and AFRONET's intervention into that process resulted in the reinstatement of the programme, reports MISA.

Zambia

LES MENACES À LA LIBERTÉ DES MÉDIAS SE POURSUIVENT

Zambia

CONTINÚAN AMENAZAS A LIBERTAD DE MEDIOS

Zambia

THREATS TO MEDIA FREEDOM CONTINUE

The trial of journalists from "The Post" is one of several press freedom infractions taking place in Zambia, said an international delegation that visited the country 23-25 November. There are still a number of issues "which need to be urgently addressed if freedom of expression and freedom of the press are to be truly respected in Zambia," stated an International Press Institute (IPI) delegation. The members of the delegation were Wangethi Mwangi, Group Managing Editor of "The Nation" in Kenya, and Peter Goff, Advisor with the IPI. The delegation held talks with several members of the private and state-run media, leaders of media organisations, and several governmental representatives, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Newstead Zimba. During the delegation's visit, on 25 November, the trial of the 12 journalists from "The Post" who are charged with espionage opened. This trial along with the attack of a journalist for the "Monitor" during the visit illustrated "the gravity of the situation" in Zambia.

Zambia

LES JOURNALISTES DU "POST" ACCUSÉS D'ESPIONNAGE

Zambia

"POST" JOURNALISTS CHARGED WITH ESPIONAGE

On 22 March, Zambian police arrested and charged "The Post" editor-in-chief Fred M'membe with espionage, then immediately released him on bail, in what the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) called "the culmination of an unprecedented crackdown on "The Post" newspaper." M'membe was informed that he was to appear in court on 16 April or sooner, along with eight other journalists previously arrested and charged with espionage. Six journalists who had been arrested in a crackdown earlier in the month were formally charged on 17 March, but all were granted bail of K100 000 (US$43) the following morning. Those arrested were Brighton Phiri, Kelvin Shimo, Joe Kaunda, Amos Malupenga, Lubasi Katunda and Goodson Machona. Douglas Hapande and MacPherson Muyumba were arrested briefly on 20 March and charged with espionage. This legal retaliation is seen as the latest move in a concerted effort to punish "The Post" for publishing an article that questioned the Zambian military's inability to quell an Angolan incursion.

Zambia

PERIODISTAS DEL "POST" ACUSADOS DE ESPIONAJE

Zambia

OFENSIVA CONTRA "THE POST" CAUSA INDIGNACIÓN INTERNACIONAL

Zambia

LA RÉPRESSION CONTRE LE "POST" SOULÈVE UN TOLLÉ INTERNATIONAL

Zambia

CRACKDOWN ON "THE POST" CAUSES INTERNATIONAL OUTCRY

"The Post" newspaper appeared on the streets of Lusaka as usual on the morning of 15 March following a major police operation last week when six journalists were arrested, reports the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). The crackdown provoked an international outcry. According to MISA, "The Post" reports "that the plan to cripple the paper was hatched and planned by officers from the Zambia Army Military Intelligence and Security Services (MISS)." MISA says the plan was to arrest all the reporters and staff of the paper, but it failed. Meanwhile, on 12 March police called off their two-day siege of the newspaper's editorial office and printing press after the six journalists were released. Police had surrounded the two buildings and prevented anyone from entering or leaving, successfully delaying the printing of the newspaper for several hours. Police then prevented it from being distributed, but the next day's edition was back on the streets.

Zambia

MINISTROS PIDEN LEYES DE DIFAMACIÓN MÁS ESTRICTAS Y AUTOCENSURA

Zambia

DES MINISTRES RÉCLAMENT DES LOIS PLUS SÉVÈRES SUR LA DIFFAMATION

Zambia

MINISTERS CALL FOR TOUGHER LIBEL LAWS, SELF-CENSORSHIP

Two Zambian ministers have called for tougher libel laws, and for journalists to practise self-censorship in order to avoid libel cases, reports the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). On 16 February, the Zambian Minister of Education, Godfrey Miyanda, said in parliament that the law relating to libel and defamation in the country needed amendment because some sections of the press were abusing it. Stating that press freedom did not entail newspapers "disparaging people with impunity," Miyanda called on Legal Affairs Minister Vincent Malambo to come up with legislation that would stiffen punishment for offenders of the libel and defamation laws.