· ALERT Date: December 19, 2005 Persons/Institutions: Shadreck Banda Violation: Detained, threatened (questioned) On December 19 2005, Weekly Angel newspaper editor Shadreck Banda was taken to the offices of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) in Lusaka for questioning in connection with a story published in the 19 – 25 December 2005 edition of the newspaper. The article concerned, which quoted a letter written by a DEC official to the Minister of Home Affairs Banda, gave an elaborate explanation of various money laundering investigations DEC was engaged in. Banda was interviewed for about three hours in the presence of both his lawyer and MISA Zambia Chairperson Kellys Kaunda. The DEC officials wanted to know the source of the story. Banda has been threatened with legal action for allegedly divulging details of an on-going investigation, which is an offence under the DEC Act. Banda was asked to return to the DEC offices on 20 December 2005 for further questioning. · ALERT (including updates) Date: November 09, 2005 Persons/Institutions: Fred M’membe Violation: Detained, legislation (charged) On November 8 2005, several plain clothes and armed uniformed police officers went to the offices of The Post newspaper in Lusaka demanding that the editor in chief, Fred M’membe, accompanies them to Kabwata Police station for questioning. Post Newspaper Managing Editor Amos Malupenga told MISA Zambia that the police arrived at the newspaper’s offices around 14h00 hours and said they wanted to interview M’membe in connection with articles which appeared in the November 7 edition of the newspaper. However, M’membe refused to accompany the police officers saying he would only do so the following day. Police had initially wanted M’membe to go with them to the police station without ever serving him with a ‘call out’ but M’membe refused to go. * November 09 2005: Fred M’membe was arrested and detained in a police station in Zambia’s capital Lusaka. He was held in custody for about six hours and released just before 17h00 after Inspector General of Police Ephraim Mateyo personally went to the Kabwata police station and ordered that he be given police bond. He is alleged to have published, in the November 7, 2005, edition of “The Post” newspaper, words stating that “[Zambian President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa] exhibited foolishness, stupidity and lack of humility” and with the intention of bringing [Mwanawasa’s] reputation “into hatred, ridicule and contempt”. The words were published in an editorial criticising President Mwanawasa for not heeding former president Kenneth Kaunda’s advice that he should iron out differences with his critics over the mode of adoption of the proposed new constitution. * November 10, 2005: Fred M’membe pleaded “not guilty” before a Lusaka magistrate to a charge of “defamation of the president,” an offence under section 69 of the Penal Code. M’membe, 46, appeared calm in the accused’s dock as the magistrate read out the charge. * December 5, 2005: The Lusaka Magistrate’s court adjourned to December 28, 2005, the case concerning Fred M’membe, managing editor of Zambia’s privately owned independent “The Post” newspaper, to allow M’membe, who is studying law at the University of Zambia, to complete his examinations. M’membe is charged with defamation of the President, an offence under section 69 of the Zambian Constitution. · ALERT Date: October 31, 2005 Persons/Institutions: Media in Zambia Violation: Legislation (access to information) The Zambian government has rejected a proposal that the new constitution being drafted by So This Is Democracy? 2005 -135- Media Institute of Southern Africa