Police in Lusaka Thursday afternoon arrested and charged Daily Nation Managing Editor Richard Sakala and FODEP Executive Director Macdonald Chipenzi and his Assistant Simon Mwanza for publishing false news and causing alarm.
The three have been denied bond and will spend Thursday night in jail.
They were arrested around 17:20 Hours after long hours of interrogations.
Police earlier today searched FODEP Head office looking for documents, date stamps and any other information that would them in their investigations.
The investigations involve an article published in the privately owned Daily Nation in which Mr Chipenzi criticised the Zambia Police Service for undertaking a secret recruitment drive.
Below is the full statement from the Police
PRESS RELEASE
FROM : POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS
TO :ALL MEDIA
SUBJECT : ARREST OF SAKALA, MWANZA & CHIPENZI
DATE : 12th DECEMBER, 2013
We have formally jointly charged and arrested the Fodep Executive Director McDonald Chipenzi, Daily Nation Newspaper Proprietor Richard Sakala and the Production Editor for the Daily Nation Newspaper Simon Mwanza aged 37, 61 and 62 respectively, for the offense of Publication of false information with intent to cause alarm contrary to section 67 subsections (i) and (ii) of the penal code cap 87 of the laws of Zambia.
This is in connection with the article that appeared in the Daily Nation Newspaper Vol. 3. Issue 632 of 10th December, 2013 headed Secret Police Jobs Exposed.
The trio remains in custody and will appear in court on Friday the 13th 2013.
CHARITY MUNGANGA-CHANDA
POLICE SPOKESPERSON
this is useless. where is the freedom of speech?
While I support the tenets of freedom of speech I deplore (and have been for a while now) this journalism of hysterics and speculation. It appears our journalists are too lazy to carry out objective reporting based on clear investigations. Most of what you see now in the press is refuted overnight; usually there is an exaggeration with huge margins of error. We don’t even know how to classify Zambian media anymore… In the same breath, I challenge other media practitioners to prove or disprove this report alleging misconduct by our men in uniform.
What a terrible day to go to jail. Friday-the- 13th. And worse of all it will be Dec.13.13
What an oppressive govt we have. Zambia Police has become another Gestapo. Please let’s vote wisely next time..that is if the foreign recruits don’t come to rig the 2016 elections.I miss Levy Mwanawasa , I miss Rupiah Banda….Zambia what were you thinking voting PF?
CHARITY MUNGANGA-CHANDA I demand that you release the two journalist without fail because if do not have written instruction to carry out these arrests then you will have no evidence to exculpate yourself in the very near future when called to explain why you actively participated in stifling freedom of expression.
Who does not know about your schemes with the PF to fire principled police officers and replace them ex jail convicts who will serve only PF’s interests instead of upholding law and order.
Just know that nothing is forever. This time around all of senior polices officers will be called upon to account for the way you are executing the public order act,
and the way you are failing to arrest and charge the Killers in PF. I urge you to start thinking about this seriously.
bangwilileni abo ba mambala, what type of speech z dat speculating false information. keep it up zambia police
There is no smoke without fire. who killed the PF cadre recently and who buried the body quickly .Who beat up worshippers at BICOGA ? Have we heard of anyone being arrested and being denied bail in these cases?
Mysterious workings of PF cannot be comprehended by nit wits!
Just wait and see the mysterious workings of Sata n.
Wake up you sleeping spiritually blind and complacent Zambians!
It is your children’s future at stake here!
Have you lost the ability to differentiate between good and evil?
Don’t wait until your nation becomes a rogue state before speaking out!
Of course these cops are acting on instructions from above as usual.
We can as well kiss good bye to our much cherished Civil Liberties!
We have now reached a point where you can be arrested for expressing an honest opinion about an objective observation! What kind of a country have we become?
I SMELL UNIP AHEAD OF U
The lunatic thug is going after everyone now.
Be strong gentle men you persecution is a passing phase don’t be intimated by ruthless good for nothing pf government.
If previous gorvenments was as ruthless as pf is sata could have been jailed for life as he used to paddle false hoods
My problem with this is the issue of detention of criminal accused at all cost. Why weren’t these guys granted bond? These are known people and can comply with the bond conditions. Please learn from others who are doing away with the issue of pre-trial detention in most situations. It lessens congestion in police cells and prisons. Learn people, learn!
Mutembo Nchito is only good with “sitting duck” cases. The Liatolian type, ni chokako weka!
Freedom of speech gone out the window and we are back in the UNIP days.
So what if an article is false! The government should simply say that was a false story and give us the truth. End of story.
If they were committed to developing the nation, they would ignore such hogwash and let their work speak for itself.
#OneZambia
It is darkness before dawn. PF is making too many enemies and upsetting too many people. End of PF is around the corner.
With the departure of Sata, all hooligans of PF sitting in National Assembly as Ministers will be charged for crimes against humanity.
I see Dr. Kaseba running away from Zambia.
We need to indpendently observe what happens during recruitment. There is no smoke without fire. Anyway, the police were ermbarrassed. The only way to avoid embarrassment is to be transparent.
ONE BLOGGER APTLY PUT IT YESTERDAY, “MUMBWE AITILE IMPANSHI NO KU MUSUMA SHA MUSUMA”. TRANSLATING IT LOOSELY, “A STUPID FOX CONTINUOUSLY AND AIMLESSLY BARKS UNTIL THE NOISE ATTRACTS ANTS WHICH BITE IT TO DEATH”.
WHAT HAS RECRUITMENT IN THE POLICE FORCE GOT TO DO WITH FODEP ANY WAY?
WHY DIDN’T THE FELA SHARE THE RUMOR WITH TIZ OR AFRICA CONFIDENTIAL OR HH INSTEAD OF WITH FORMER PRISONER, SAKALA?
Luapula shut up HH has nothing to do with this, if you enjoy and miss Kaunda days
good for you right now we don’t need unwarranted arrest as if someone stole or killed someone only to realize it’s just about an article, this is just tarnishing our
image, there are far more important issues like why delaying our constitution.
These charges are not new in Zambia. The same charges were pressed on Monitor journalists in 2003 during Levy Mwanawasa. In fact the entire newspaper office building was raided by armed paramilitary officers and picked up the entire editorial crew which included the Managing editor, his news editors and chief reporter. There are no surprises in Zambia.
So because a Levy used it ,it’s okey? Sleep docile Zambians indeed. We might as well call back the colonialist because nothing has changed. The masses are still being oppressed.
I agree with Jojo, the Monitor was a pain in Levy’s skin. Reporters from this newspaper were sought like criminals.
Bakapoli, BA shinkamanyela
I demand the release of these guys. No amount of intimidation will work……
@Maria, I did not justify the arrest of these guys simply because Levy used the same laws to clamp down on the radical media houses. Am sure you glossed over the point and picked on what appears to be in agreement with your perspective. The point that I was addressing is these laws have been around for a while since the colonial era of which the post-colonial governments have used them to their advantage. That is to oppress and muzzle the free media. Maria, if you were to look at the charges which these detained pressmen are facing, you and I should be asking one question, “does the punishment fit the offence?” Time and again, our new Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba has indicated that he will ensure that he brings about judicial reforms in our justice system. Has he done that yet?
That’s y l call ded demons becoz they are liers,lunatics,slandarers,gossipers and the list is endless.Why should any sane person expect these criminals 2 b go scot freesuch? l diots! they must be responsible enough.Take dem on!
The media is the fourth state in a democratic country and it’s for this reason that the role the media houses play is vital and reporting/ printing and distribution of news has to be factual and impartial to those reading and whose news is being reported about. I know Richard Sakala at state house as a press secretary to Late president Chiluba and his agenda towards those he feels are not part of his ways. The constant reporting of ill about Sata / PF has been on going but Sata / PF have not responded in any way . Now they have gone future to hunt done innocent people in the name of freedom of free speech. Freedom of speech or movement have a limit. You can not justify propaganda reporting to freedom of expression or passing in someone’ yard as the other person has the right to privacy
I admire the media I countries like SA and Kenya. They are factual. The don’t scandalise or alarm. If they raise arlarm or highlight a scandal it backed up by facts. In Zambia unfortunately media that report facts have hidden agendas and will twist the story to suit their agenda e.g the Post and Tumfweko. Others are downright liars (Libellous & full of vile would be banned and editors locked up in Kenya or Rwanada for inciting hatred) like the daily nation & ZWD. Congrats LT for there is some semblance of normalcy in your reporting. I am beginning to lump journalists in the same group as Zambian lawyers and politicians. People that have messed up this country from independence albeit journalists joining the band wagon after the introduction of multiparty politics!