Hichilema govt comes under fire from civic societies for allegedly muzzling citizens, media

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) has expressed concern over the shrinking civic space in the country under the United Party for National Development (UPND) administration.

Chapter One Foundation Executive Director, Linda Kasonde, said her organisation and others had observed worrying trends with the failure by public authorities to protect the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

Kasonde said this at a media briefing in Lusaka on Thursday on behalf of the CSOs.

She cited the dismissal of the Zambia Daily Mail photojournalist for photographing people queuing up for mealie-meal in Ndola, arrest of Patriots for Economic Progress (PEP) president, Sean Tembo, and cautioning of Hot FM radio station over their interview with Sishuwa Sishuwa, a Zambian academic.

“On October 18, 2023, a day when the nation was supposed to be fasting, praying, reflecting and reconciling, law enforcement agents in Lusaka thwarted a planned protest against the rising cost of living,” Kasonde said.

She said preventing citizens, including those with dissenting voices, from discussing issues of national importance was the very opposite of democracy.

Kasonde said President Hakainde Hichilema had repeatedly expressed commitment to safeguarding human rights and the rule of law and that the CSOs were taken aback by such actions coming from his appointees.

“Such actions not only limit the free flow of information, but also undermine citizens responsibility to hold decision makers accountable and create a skewed governance environment where citizens as rights holders fear to raise any issues with their duty-bearers either directly or through the media,” she said.

Kasonde urged the government to quickly enact the Access to Information Bill and the Public Gatherings Bill in order to safeguard the right of freedom of expression and assembly in the country.

She further called on the government and public officers to urgently address the embarrassing dent on Zambia’s democratic image and to act in line with their constitutional mandate by serving without fear of favour.

“If left unchecked, this trend threatens to reverse the gains we thought we had made as a country following the August 2021 general elections and once again led the country down the path of democratic decline,” Kasonde said.

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