Mr Malupenga said Government will not hesitate to invoke the relevant
legal provisions if some people decide to abuse the internet to peddle
falsehoods that could destabilise the country during this time of
elections. He added that Government has a duty to ensure peace and
stability are maintained and will not allow any breakdown of law and
order.
“Government, therefore, expects citizens to use the internet responsibly.
But if some people choose to abuse the internet to mislead and
misinform, Government will not hesitate to invoke relevant legal
provisions to forestall any breakdown of law and order as the country
passes through the election period,” Mr. Malupenga said.
Mr. Malupenga was speaking when he handed over a video camera
and a mobile phone to a Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS)
reporter based in Ikeleng’i District in North-Western Province, Victor
Mwila, who was attacked by alleged UPND cadres in his course of duty
in the area.
The partial internet shutdown which led to social media access limitation
resulted into grave consequences with regard to the freedom of expression
online and general access to information.
Firstly, the shutdown caused anxiety and speculation as several citizens
relied on social media sites to access information about the election, with
over ten million mobile broadband internet users in Zambia - the majority of
whom are using social media sites23. It is for this reason that a lot of election
campaigning was conducted on social media sites especially in the wake of
the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on public gatherings. As such, the
social media blockade inhibited access to information for many Zambians
that had been relying on social media for news and other updates which
23

The Digital 2021 (Zambia) report reports 5.48M internet users, 2.6M social media users, with the majority
using mobile broadband internet, See https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-zambia. See also Zambia
Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) indicators at
http://onlinesystems.zicta.zm:8585/statsfinal/ICT%20Indicators.html.

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