Is HH Just Playing Politics By Chanda Chimba III One of the things that I was delighted with when covered the press briefing addressed by Hakainde Hichilema, the president of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) on Thursday October 9, 2014 was when he said he will not tolerate anyone from his party pushing around journalists. Without putting words in his mouth I am convinced he meant he does not condone the harassment of journalists by all political players, the party that he leads as well as the ruling party – the Patriotic Front (PF) and others. On some occasions, while addressing the press at the UPND secretariat, he has referred to what he termed negative reporting by the Post Newspapers. I remember one time some UPND members jeereing at a Post Newspapers photo-journalist as Hichilema made mention of the tabloid, something I filmed. He calmed them down and advised his party members that all journalists, including those from the Post, are welcome to cover any event of the UPND and therefore no journalist should be harassed or even barred from UPND events even if they may report negatively on the party leadership or the party itself. This media friendly approach is what should prevail in all parties including the one that is governing us right now, the PF. Apart from covering some events by the UPND I have also covered a number of events by the former ruling party the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) since the 2011 elections. For very obvious reasons I have never even attempted to cover not even a media briefing by the ruling PF. The only event close to covering a PF function, which as a matter of fact was not, was the requiem mass of former Minister of Defence in Frederick Chiluba’s administration Ben Mwila in September 2013 attended by President Sata. It was a State Funeral and with the Head of State in attendance it naturally attracted a lot of PF cadres and functionaries. I was humiliatingly hounded out by some known PF cadres who in the process even grabbed my video camera and the footage of all this was even given to the Zambia Police who said they would investigate and apprehend the cadres. This has never happened, it is kind of like one those cold cases you watch on the crime channel. As far as I know the former ruling party also has a media friendly approach just like the other smaller opposition parties like Charles Milupi’s Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD), Elias Chipimo Jr’s National Restoration Party (NAREP) and Edith Nawakwi’s Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD). I have interviewed Chipimo before at the NAREP secretariat and I think I was well received by all. I have also covered FDD’s Nawakwi making a statement on behalf of other parties and stakeholders on the release of the draft constitution just like I have also covered Alliance for a Better Zambia (ABZ) president Fr. Frank Bwalya with no problems. It is important for all opposition parties to continue with this trend and not consider journalists, the media as enemies. The truth is when any journalist covers a press briefing he or she will report what has been said especially that almost always a statement is read out and distributed to the media so much that even when it comes to the question and answer time most reporters have their recorders on legitimately recording what is being said. So Hichilema for instance cannot claim to have been misquoted. As a matter of fact the few times I have covered his press briefings I have never heard him complain about being misquoted after stories have been published or aired. What is also true is that any opposition political party leader is a potential Head of State and if Hichilema became president it would be interesting to follow up on the kind of relationship the UPND as a ruling party would have with the media. Under UPND will journalists be allowed to operate with more liberties than we see today? Hichilema and the UPND should not turn against journalists and the media as a whole, the fourth estate, as and whenever they are given the chance to govern Zambia. What they should in fact do is enact the much talked about Access to Information Bill and repeal all legislation that is not media friendly. Then everybody will be free, no doubt about that and I am sure it will not be hard to achieve while other pressing issues are being addressed as well. But it will be sad and bad if Hichilema is just playing politics! zambiareports/2014/10/09/hh-just-playing-politics/
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 10:04:06 +0000
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