State of the media report July - Dec 2022 21st September 2017, MISA Zambia appealed to Zambia Police through its then Chairperson Hellen Mwale to ensure the police officers responsible for harassing the journalists were brought to book. Similarly, a report produced by MISA Zambia in 2020 indicates that in 2019 Livingstone City Council Police officers attacked a Prime TV reporter who was filming them as they confiscated goods from street vendors. Facts of the matter are that Elias Limwaya, a journalists from Prime TV based in Livingstone was attacked and his camera damaged by some officials from the Livingstone Council Police. Perhaps the most concerning incident involved a report published on 16 November 2019 in the News Diggers newspaper under the heading “Cop Threatens to Shoot Journalist During Kambwili Interrogation”. The newspaper reported that in the process of questioning the National Democratic Congress Leader Dr Chishimba Kambwili in connection with a breach of the Public Order Act after he toured Chisokone Market, a police officer cocked his AK47 rile and pointed it at the News Diggers Journalist and threatened to shoot the journalists for documenting Kambwili’s extraction from Lunte Lodge. Acts of censorship by police have also been recorded over the years. One such incident was recorded by the Zambian Eye found on 13 April 2013. It reported that Police besieged KFM in Mansa and ordered a discontinuation of the programme featuring Dr Chishimba Kambwili who was said to be then shadow leader of the opposition NDC1.In Lusaka. Musonda said the thuggery exhibited by the ruthless cadres was unacceptable in a democratic set-up. He said the intimidation against the independent press was equally uncalled for. “We condemn these mercenaries, hired thugs and LAZ is calling upon the Inspector General of Police to take a decisive step to ensure that these enemies of democracy are brought to book and justice made to visit them,” Musonda said 2. Similar calls have been made by MISA Zambia and to that end culminated into an MMD Cadre Chris Chalwe being arrested by police, appearing in court and subsequently being sentenced for physically attacking journalists. Similarly in the Grace Lungu case, the PF cadre was also arrested, appeared before the courts and was sentenced to 4 years. However these are very few cases of cadres being held accountable because many have gone scot free and it has not been heard that their parties have expelled them or suspended them for that matter. 3.3 FINDINGS FOR JULY TO DECEMBER 2022 Many aspects of the above narrative of past cases of journalists being physically or verbally attacked by cadres are not fading but rather appeared to only hibernate and resurface when hot governance or developmental matters are taking place in the country. Several cases were recorded in the period under review (i.e. July to December 2022) that involved incidents of clashes between State Interests and Journalists and Political and Journalists Interests. Such cases were recorded at, 3 FM, Pasme, Kokoliko and Mafken. As part of this study, the researcher engaged the affected media houses or journalists to gain insight into what happened, what inspired these attacks, how they have affected them and if at all culprits were brought to book. Further the researcher also engaged the Zambia Police to seek their intervention in relation to this phenomena. In the same breath, the research also recorded some notable clashes between the media and Zambia police. One incident was instigated by a protest by Dr Brian Sampa while the second case was a result of a police raid in the night of an opposition leader Chilufya Tayali. In total Seven (07) journalists found themselves in competition with state interest and journalists’ interest to report on the subject matter at hand. 1 2 Police fish out Kambwili from Radio station | Zambian Eye Zambia: LAZ Urges IG to Arrest MMD Cadres for Attacking Post Vendors - allAfrica.com 11