1. INTRODUCTION Surveillance of journalists has become a very topical and controversial issue that now requires attention at a number of levels – the level of the state, CSOs, and journalism organisations themselves. The systematic and arbitrary harvesting of journalists’ information, tracking and targeting of journalists is on the increase especially in the SADC region where some regimes seek to retain control of the media and stifle divergent views and suffocate opponents. In countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Malawi, there is deep-rooted fear that enacted cyber laws are already being used for surveillance purposes. For instance, South Africa uses the RICA Act to regulate the interception of communication and Zimbabwe has the Interception of Communications Act while Zambia deploys the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2009. Thus, anecdotal evidence in Southern Africa shows that governments in the region are increasingly resorting to digital tools for surveillance and this is a serious cause for concern. At least three Southern African countries; Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have acquired sophisticated tools developed by an Israeli company, Circles, which they use to monitor the behavior of their citizens online. This calls for journalists, their organisations and other media- support institutions to act in ways that protect journalists from surveillance, be it by state or non-state agency. There is need, therefore, to come up with a toolkit of strategies that journalists in Southern Africa can make use of in quotidian news gathering and reporting practices. State security agencies have been the most serious threats to journalists. This is because they have the technical know-how, huge budgets to practice surveillance, and trained people. More importantly, in a region where state security apparatuses are view as partisan, they also have a political motive. At an international level, the UN has come with a standard instrument that seeks to safeguard privacy and protect individuals from surveillance. Though not necessary addressing journalists per se, this framework is important to tease out here as it contextualises some of the points made in the toolkit. Page A SURVIVAL 6 TOOLKIT FOR JOURNALISTS A SURVIVAL TOOLKIT FOR JOURNALISTS Page 6