SECTOR 1 offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years4. Section 57 criminalises offences in respect of seditious practices. Section 67 criminalises “the publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public” while Section 67(1) reads: Any person who publishes, whether orally or in writing or otherwise, any statement, rumour or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace, knowing or having reason to believe that such statement, rumour or report is false, is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for three years. Section 67 (2) further states that: It shall be no defence to a charge under subsection (1) that he did not know or did not have reason to believe that the statement, rumour or report was false, unless he proves that, prior to publication, he took reasonable measures to verify the accuracy of such statement, rumour or report. The State Security Act particularly hinders access to information and the Public Order Act (can) negatively impact on Zambians’ rights to both; freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. There are also provisions making libel an offence5. Some of these laws are “old colonial pieces of legislation,” that were used to, “restrict the movement and freedom of Africans” and they have unfortunately not been repealed following Zambia’s independence. Other existing laws are not meant to restrict certain freedoms but are being misused. There are several examples of this misuse. In March 2015, an article appeared in The Post reporting that the president, shortly after coming into office, (supposedly during a holiday) was seen “drinking beer and playing pool”. This article included a photograph. As a result, the journalists who covered the story were charged with defamation of the president (as criminalised under the Penal Code). Court proceedings only started in 2016 and are still ongoing a year later. In 2013, Section 67 of the Penal Code (publication of false news) was used against Richard Sakala, Proprietor of the Daily Nation, and McDonald Chipenzi, Executive Director of the Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP). They went on to challenge the constitutionality of Section 67 at the High Court and the Court ruled that this section of the Penal Code is unconstitutional and in contradiction 4 5 Penal Code Act, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia Criminal libel is addressed in the Penal Code while the Zambian Defamation Act addresses several issues of civil libel. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZAMBIA 2017 17