Opinion: Zambia’s Growing Censorship Problem More than 20 years have passed since multiparty democracy was restored in Zambia, but a familiar problem from the past is once again rearing its ugly head: government censorship of the news media. This past Saturday, May 3rd, marked World Press Freedom day, and the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) dispatched its Minister of Information Joseph Katema to visit the United Nations in New York. Katema is relatively new to his position, taking over from Fackson Shamenda, who was moved to Labour Minister. We are told that Mr. Katema holds a doctorate, making him one of the rare members of the PF with a graduate degree, so expectations were high that the minister would offer a change of tune. These expectations, alas, would not be met. When Katema went to the U.N., instead of addressing major questions such as the government’s blocking of critical news websites and multiple criminal cases launched against journalists, Katema simply pointed to his party’s alleged support for a dysfunctional Freedom of Information Act, and then went further to elaborate a justification for heavier government intervention and regulation of online news. Zambia may be one of the only nations participating in World Press Freedom Day that is also attempting to introduce a new rationale for media censorship by arguing that online news sources can be “irresponsible” because of “anonymity” and the potential to stir up tribal sentiments. Even worse, it seemed like some of Katema’s colleagues at the UN were buying into this sinister pretext to censor online news. Speaking at a panel discussion organised by the Zambian Mission to UN and the Centre for Media and Peace Initiatives (CMPI), the Zambian Minister actually went so far as to openly threaten online media. Other panelists apparently were not well informed of the challenging reality inside Zambia for free and independent press. Critics of the current government say that Katema should be made to explain what happened to the implementation of the Independent Broadcasting Authority. There are also many questions why radio stations such as Errol Hickey’s Radio Phoenix, QFM, and Hot FM have all faced temporary suspensions of their nationwide broadcasting licenses as punishment for interviewing opposition politicians. Even within the state-owned media there are significant problems, such as the Times of Zambia journalists who haven’t been paid in months, compounded by the fact that there have been more than 6 different changes of Information Ministers and Permanent Secretaries since the PF came into power … and yet it is “online media” that is described as “unprofessional” by Katema. If our new Information Minister is so keen to be transparent, it might be helpful to get an understanding of just how much money of the state budget has been spent on Huawei to provide the ‘Great Zambezi Firewall’? How much has been spent to put ignorant PF cadres online as trolls with terrible spelling skills? Let’s address the basic facts: online news is popular because it is reporting on all the stories that are silent in the mainstream media. As soon as other news outlets are free to cover the full range of public life in Zambia, then perhaps we can see change. The Patriotic Front government has demonstrated that it has very thin skin – they cannot seem to tolerate that so many people disagree with their policies or wish to discuss their failings. As a response to this bad reputation, they have invested huge sums of money into creating a false image of itself on the Internet, from President Michael Sata’s obviously ghostwritten Facebook page to the armies of propagandist commentators in the popular forums. People like Shamenda and Katema belong to the stone age of journalism – they would prefer that every blogger telephone them with approval before publishing a story. But online media cannot be stopped – as much as it is squeezed, technology will find a way to get the message out and share information. As Nelson Mandela once said, “a bad free press is better than a technically superior but subservient press.” In the spirit of World Press Freedom Day, we hope that ALL of Zambia’s online community continues writing, reporting, and commenting without fear of these threats from our misguided leadership. zambiareports/2014/05/06/zambias-growing-censorship-problem/
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 14:10:25 +0000