Zambia
guarantee media freedom and access to
Information, as opposed to the current
constitution in which press freedom is
a rider on the freedom of expression in
Article 20.
As the year closed, however, there was a
glaring absence of a road map to guide
the process of reforming legislation, including a consultative process to identify specific areas of concern and subsequent change.

The polarisation which
has plagued the media sector for some
time, was more visible
in the pre and post
Presidential election
period as certain media houses put their
weight behind certain
candidates – sometimes openly and at
other times by implication.
A notable attack on freedom of expression was the arrest of popular artist and social commentator Chama
Fumba, popularly known as ‘Pilato’ on

the charge of ‘conduct likely to cause
breach of the peace’ following a song
he produced in which he criticised the
republican president. It was gratifying
when the state entered a Nolle Prosequi for lack of evidence and failure to
present witnesses before the court. The
arrest was widely condemned as an affront on the freedom of expression and
MISA Zambia promptly rose to the defence of Fumba by providing solidarity
and legal support.
Another infringement on freedom of expression was the threat by Information
Minister Chishimba Kambwili to close
Radio Phoenix accusing it of being run
by the opposition, the United Party for
National Development (UPND).
Government fail to move ahead with
Access to Information Bill
One of the party promises made by the
Patriotic Front (PF) prior to the elections
was to ensure the immediate enactment
of the Access to Information (ATI) legislation once elected into office in 2011.
This was reiterated by Chishimba Kambwili when he was appointed the Minister of Information and Broadcasting after
the Presidential election at the beginning of 2015. Just a month after being in
office he said he would ensure the ATI
bill was tabled in Parliament when the
house resumed sitting on February 24th,
2015. The Bill had not been presented
by the time the Parliamentary session
adjourned on March 27th, 2015. At a
press briefing on March 2nd, 2015, the
Minister announced that the ATI bill was
submitted to the Attorney General’s Office for clearance pending, presentation
to Parliament.
In May President Lungu indicated that
he had second thoughts on the ATI Bill
due to what he termed as ‘irresponsible

So This is Democracy? 2015

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