Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) report has ranked Zambia as second country with highest cases of media freedom violation in the region.
In its report, Zimbabwe tops the list of nine countries in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.
Releasing the annual report in Lusaka yesterday, MISA Zambia chairperson Daniel Sikazwe said it was saddening that Zambia was among the countries with the highest media freedom violations last year.
“Zambia recorded more than 50 media issues directly related to media freedom violation. The media freedom violations recorded in Zambia ranged from physical attack on the media such as beatings from cadres, verbal attacks by various political leaders, arrests of media workers and unlawful attempts to gag the media through radio stations, dismissal and expulsions from political rallies,” said Sikazwe. “While most of the media freedom violations were mainly perpetuated by supporters from the ruling party in 2009, there appeared to be a shift in 2010 where most of the cases reported were from the opposition political parties’ supporters. Incidents where cadres stormed some media with the aim of disrupting negative information about their party or leadership.”
The report noted with great displeasure government’s insistence that the media be regulated by statute as opposed to self-regulation.
In its report, Zimbabwe tops the list of nine countries in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.
Releasing the annual report in Lusaka yesterday, MISA Zambia chairperson Daniel Sikazwe said it was saddening that Zambia was among the countries with the highest media freedom violations last year.
“Zambia recorded more than 50 media issues directly related to media freedom violation. The media freedom violations recorded in Zambia ranged from physical attack on the media such as beatings from cadres, verbal attacks by various political leaders, arrests of media workers and unlawful attempts to gag the media through radio stations, dismissal and expulsions from political rallies,” said Sikazwe. “While most of the media freedom violations were mainly perpetuated by supporters from the ruling party in 2009, there appeared to be a shift in 2010 where most of the cases reported were from the opposition political parties’ supporters. Incidents where cadres stormed some media with the aim of disrupting negative information about their party or leadership.”
The report noted with great displeasure government’s insistence that the media be regulated by statute as opposed to self-regulation.
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