Church Leaders in Zambia Denounce “media harassment”, Demand Press Freedom

“The Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) is greatly concerned with the continued intimidation and harassment of the media,” the church leaders state in their collective message, adding that “the recent happenings (are) aimed at limiting press freedom, censoring and intimidating the media.”

“These acts of intimidation represent a restriction of press freedom, which is a fundamental component of our democracy,” the leaders state in their message signed by the Chairperson of the CCMG Steering Committee, Fr. Cleophas Lungu who is the Secretary General of the Lusaka-based Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB).

“The world over, a free press plays an important role in a democratic society, allowing the dissemination of information and a space for the exchange of opinions and ideas,” the church leaders add. 

Responding to the incidents the church leaders highlighted, Zambia’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Dora Siliya has been quoted as saying, “The Government is deeply disturbed by reports of interference of programming of some radio stations in Mpika and Chinsali districts where some broadcast programs have reportedly been disrupted and some unlawful directives ordered.” 

In her statement, the Minister quoted the country's Independent Broadcasting Authority Act, which bars any person “to procure other people to storm a radio station and disrupt a broadcast program or order a broadcast station to broadcast in a certain manner.”

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While the church leaders acknowledge the statement by the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services in their collective message, they however call on the Independent Broadcasting Authority to “play its role in providing protection to the media through existing statutes to ensure that media houses operate independently.”

They call on law enforcement agencies “to investigate the incidents in Chinsali and Isoka and ensure that the individuals involved are brought to book” and urged “government officials to refrain from using their office to intimidate the media, and those who do be disciplined according to the appropriate procedures.”

“In these challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have a duty to uphold and protect the freedom of the press so that free information sharing is guaranteed,” CCMG representatives state.

“The challenges of COVID-19 should not be used to limit the freedom of press, or the exchange of ideas and opinions,” they add.

The leaders further cite the United Nations Secretary General during the  World Press Freedom Day saying, “Meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic depends on media freedom and independent reporting.” 

Founded in 2015 as an alliance of four Christian organizations, CCMG is an independent and nonpartisan election observer in the country comprising four Christian forums: ZCCB, Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections (JCTR).    

In their May 19 statement, the leaders look ahead to next year saying, “As we prepare for 2021 elections, the media must remain free as part of a democratic, transparent and credible electoral process.”

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.