Zambia: Police Detain TV Reporters Covering Protest – CFWIJ Condemns Police Interference
Location: Zambia, Lusaka
Date: March 10, 2023
Journalist Namo Phiri and her colleague Abel Musonda detained while reporting on protest. Police apprehended the TV reporters alongside protestors despite identifying as journalists. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns their detention. Zambian police should allow media to cover protests and stop detaining journalists.
On March 10, police detained Millennium TV journalists Namo Phiri and Abel Musonda. They were covering a protest organized by opposition parties. Political parties were protesting a dual-carriageway concession deal made by the government. Riot police stopped the protests and detained twenty-three people including the reporters. Phiri and Musonda did not have their press cards when detained but identified as journalists to police. They were held at Lusaka Central station for approximately six hours before being released.
Phiri told CPJ that she “tried saying let me do my job but they (police) stopped us from filming. They picked (up) everyone, including those that were just passing by.” Police did not let her get her press card from her car and mocked her and Musonda. They told the journalists they could “write news from the cells.”
Police released a statement on those charged with unlawful assembly. Phiri and Musonda were both named. Later, spokesperson for Zambia police, Danny Mwale told CPJ that they added their names by mistake and they were not charged.
The Free Press Initiative Zambia's Joan Chirwa expressed shock at the detentions. She said that police have no justification for arresting either journalists or protestors. “The right to protest is a right that each citizen must enjoy. Therefore, the offense of unlawful assembly is outdated and goes against human rights and the tenets of democracy which Zambia claims to be,” Chirwa said.
Political protests are in the public interest. Media have the right to cover these events without police interference. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is pleased police did not charge the journalists. We call on authorities to ensure the press are free to report without fear of arrest.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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