State of the media report July - Dec 2022 out physically and switched off the equipment and the show was cut short. I was told not to switch on the airwaves until 18 hours and they left” The respondent said “” From their group, someone suggested that they take me in their vehicle and go and kill me somewhere but before they could agree on that I was rescued by residents from Anusa compound which is the area where Pasme radio station is, the resident challenged the cadres by asking why they were beating me and they responded by saying our radio station was attacking the government on the breakfast show. The resident disagreed with the cadres and that’s how they left”. Asked how he was affected by the attack, the respondent said he sustained some injuries due to the beatings and lost his phone and some money. Regarding the effect on his work, the respondent said The stations going off air was not a good thing because it left its listeners wondering what happened and a lot of people were following the programmes. “I am also living in fear because I feel like these people are watching me and can come for me anytime. It’s very unsettling. It has been hard for me to work” the respondent was asked whether he reported the matter to the police and he said that he reported to the police the same day. I was called back after two days and when I went to the police station I was asked to go to the place where my assailants were found so I could identify them and they notify the police. I went to the bus station around 7 and found 5 of the cadres who were part of the group which assaulted me, I called the police to tell them I found the cadres but they only went to arrest them around 13 hours and only found 2 of them, the rest had run away. Police in Petauke told me they transferred the case to Chipata Police. I feel Zambia Police did not help me at all.” He said The researcher engaged UPND Youth Chairman Gilbert Liswaniso who acknowledged that the UPND party cadres are in the habit of attacking journalists ,” Yes we have received the reports, for instance sometimes the media are victimised by our young people but we provide leadership by letting them do their job as long as they report the truth. Asked what the UPND party policy is regarding press freedom, the respondent said “Our policy is that we should not when we went for elections in 2021, we spoke about freedom of the press. We have a policy, we have no choice as a party but ensure we do we are a democracy. Even now the media can criticize the governance issues and they won’t be stopped from doing their job” He added. When asked if he knew what law protects him as a journalist, the respondent said: “Journalists are there to inform people and it’s our duty to inform the community by reporting on issues like sanitation, development, etc. The researcher further engaged the Legal Counsel in the private sector on legal framework of the law concerning journalists and he said” Another challenge pertaining to the legal framework are a number of laws in that there are more laws that hinder Freedom of Expression than those that promote it.These are the Public Order Act, The Penal Code, The Prisons Act, the State Security Act, Civil and Criminal Procedure Act, the printed publications Act, all those provisions work to stifle freedom of expression than they do to promote it. Other challenges cited were lack of training in the media, the practice and what is pertaining in the industry in terms of the practice of journalism in Zambia. 14