Metro

Uncertainties in the season of Zambia’s digital rights pursuits

Published

3 months ago

September 2, 2024

Upholding the rule of law is fundamental to protecting human rights and dignity, ensuring justice and equality for all and promoting stability, security, and predictability.

It is also crucial for fostering economic growth and development, preventing abuse of power and corruption, and maintaining social order and cohesion.

President Hakainde Hichilema, in his inaugural speech in August 2021, pledged to restore the rule of law in Zambia, promising a departure from the country’s past governance challenges.

“We will restore the rule of law, general order in our public places and communities, and return our country back to normalcy. Read my lips, no more cadreism from any political party,” he said.

“There is space for all of you, but no space for thuggery, no space for violence. It is a new dawn for the country going forward.”

However, concerns have since emerged over the state of the rule of law in Zambia.

Issues such as the executive’s significant influence over the judiciary and legislature, judicial appointments and decision-making have raised questions about the independence of the courts.

Opposition parties continue to criticise laws like the Public Order Act and the Cyber Security Act, which they argue restrict free speech and assembly.

Several opposition parties, including the New Heritage Party and the Socialist Party, have been denied police permits to hold public rallies.

While some rallies, such as those by the United Kwacha Alliance and Citizens First party, were initially blocked, they were eventually allowed to proceed after intervention.

Opposition leaders, including former President Edgar Lungu and Socialist Party leader Dr. Fred M’membe, have voiced concerns about what they see as a shrinking space for political engagement and expression.

Civil society organizations, including ActionAid, the Non-Governmental Gender Organizations Coordinating Council (NGOCC), the Alliance for Community Action, and Chapter One Foundation, have expressed alarm over what they describe as a “shrinking space for freedom of expression and assembly.”

In a joint statement, 13 civil society organizations noted a “growing intolerance for dissent,” citing recent failures by public authorities to protect these fundamental democratic rights.

Despite these concerns, the government has maintained that Zambia’s democratic space is not shrinking.

Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe, speaking on ZNBC TV’s Sunday Interview, stated that the current administration, in office for just over two years, is not perfect but is committed to maintaining democratic freedoms.

“We are not professing perfection; there are bound to be mistakes. However, that cannot equate to a shrinking democratic space,” Haimbe argued.

Veteran politician Vernon Johnson Mwaanga echoed this sentiment, dismissing opposition claims and asserting that Zambia has faced similar challenges before and will overcome them.

“Citizens will not allow the country to slide back to the old days,” he said. “I don’t accept these concerns because I have seen this country through ups and downs.”

However, critics highlight that free speech rights in Zambia are increasingly under threat, with journalists facing harassment, arrests, and censorship.

The government’s monitoring of online activities through the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act has been another point of contention.

Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology invoked Section 54, No. 2 of 2021, to combat online hate speech, propaganda, defamation, and child abuse.

Dr. Brilliant Habeenzu, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, warned that the government is investing heavily in cyber infrastructure to track down and prosecute online offenders.

Public gatherings and protests are often dispersed or banned, with citizens and media outlets frequently hesitating to express dissenting views.

Stakeholders are calling for judicial reforms to enhance judicial independence and impartiality, repeal or amend restrictive laws, reduce executive influence, and protect journalists from harassment and intimidation.

By addressing these challenges, Zambia can strengthen the rule of law and expand free speech rights, enabling citizens to freely express themselves and hold those in power accountable.

This story is sponsored by Project Aliyense.

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Metro

Zambia: APP leader lampoons PF over pledge to reverse forfeited properties

Published

11 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Leader of one of Zambia’s opposition parties, Advocates for People’s Prosperity (APP), Mwenye Musenge, has criticised the Patriotic Front (PF) over its promise to reverse forfeited properties if the party won the 2026 presidential election.

Musenge, who was reacting to a statement credited to the PF Member of Parliament (MP) for Lukashya Province, George Chisanga, described the PF’s promise as a betrayal, saying the declaration had exposed the party’s disregard for accountability and justice.

The APP leader, who spoke to Zambia Monitor in a telephone interview from Kitwe, expressed shock that Chisanga, a former Law Association of Zambia president, would endorse what he termed a “regressive agenda,” accusing the PF of prioritising the protection of corrupt individuals over the welfare of citizens.

“This declaration reveals the PF’s true intentions, returning to power not to serve Zambians, but to shield their corrupt network and restore stolen assets,” Musenge said.

He alleged that former President Edgar Lungu’s consistent calls to protect his family, who he claimed cannot explain their amassed wealth, further demonstrate the party’s self-serving mission.

Musenge further described the PF as “a political carcass animated by greed and nostalgia for its days of unchecked looting,” and accused its leaders of leaving Zambia impoverished while enriching themselves.

“Allowing them near power again would be akin to handing a butcher’s knife to a thief already drenched in the blood of the nation’s resources.

“The PF represents everything wrong with Zambian politics—a relic of the past clinging to survival through recycled lies and corrupt agendas,” he added.

Musenge went on to call for the party to be permanently eradicated, saying it had no vision, morality, or credibility to serve Zambians.

Metro

Nigerian Senate confirms influx of terrorists from Mali, Burkina Faso into the country

Published

17 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian Senate has raised the alarm over the influx of terrorists from Mali and Burkina Faso who operate in the name of Lakurawa, into Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger States in the northern parts of the country.

The Upper Chamber, which raised the alarm during plenary on Wednesday, called on the military to set up early warning mechanisms to forestall further incursions by terrorist groups as well as maintain presence and vigilance in the affected communities to halt the activities of the terror group from spreading further across the region.

The resolutions of the Senate were sequel to a motion titled, “Urgent need for the federal government to take stringent measures to stop the infiltration of a group of violent terrorists, known as Lakurawa, from entrenching themselves in some northwest states of Sokoto and Kebbi,” and was sponsored by the senator representing Kebbi North, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, and co- sponsored by Senators Adamu Aliero, from Kebbi Central, and Garba Musa Maidoki, representing Kebbi South.

While presenting the motion, Senator Abdullahi said:

“The Senate is aware that a group of terrorists from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, known as Lakurawa, has infiltrated the country through the Nigeria-Niger border, at Illela, Tangaza and Silame Local Government Areas of Sokoto and are from there, attacking communities in Augie and Arewa LGAs in Kebbi State.

“Recall that this violent gang of terrorists had raided and dispossessed these communities, prior to the large-scale invasion of Mera, a village in Augie Local Government, on November 8, 2024, killing more than 20 people and fleeing with their livestock, amounting to hundreds of millions of naira.

“Senate is aware that Kebbi State government promptly responded by sending a delegation with relief materials to the affected villages and assistance to the families of the deceased.

“Aware that Senator Yahaya A. Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi North Central) and Senator Garba Musa Maidoki (Kebbi South), along with some members of the House of Representatives from Kebbi State, have been to those areas, to commiserate with victims of the attacks on behalf of the National Assembly.

“Aware that if timely, adequate and decisive measures are not taken, this group can spread its reign of terror to other northern parts of the country and beyond.

“Notes the prompt response of the ministry of defence and the armed forces who despatched a well-armed military response squad that was able to dislodge the terrorists and secured the release of herds of cattle and other livestock stolen by the terrorists. These foreigners have invaded the country.

“We need to nip the situation in the bud, they have international connections, heavily armed with very dangerous weapons, the federal government should take the matter very seriously.

‘These terrorists are well armed with highly sophisticated weapons, this is a very serious matter on national security, they control the whole of Northern Mali and now attacking Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Niger, and others. The time to act is now, we have to take action on how to tame terrorism.”

He said the Senate should revisit past resolutions on terrorism and send them to the Presidency for immediate action.

”I want us to recall what happened in the 8th and 9th Senates. We discussed extensively how we can stem the tide of banditry and terrorism. We made far-reaching recommendations, and we asked the Executive arm of government to implement those resolutions.

“It is still relevant for us to insist that those resolutions should be implemented, if we do so, it will reduce the incidences of banditry and insurgency in the country. We can reduce it to the barest minimum.”