Post Newspapers Managing Editor Joan Chirwa-Ngoma and Reporter Mukosha Funga have been arrested and charged with the offence of defamation of the President.
The duo was arrested and jointly charged this morning with 4th Revolution Party leader Eric Chanda over alleged defamation of the President.
They were detained briefly and later released on a K20,000 bail each in their own recognisance.
This was after Police issued fresh summons for Chirwa, Funga and Deputy Managing Editor Joseph Mwenda including Chanda to appear for interview at 09:00 hours today at Lusaka Central Police Station.
This was in connection with a story published by The Post on May 9, 2015, authored by Funga, where Chanda said “President Edgar Lungu should be the last person to warn his aides against clubbing because the first assignment he undertook after taking over office was to go to Mfuwe to socialise and play pool”.
Last week, police recorded warn and caution statements from Chirwa-Ngoma and Funga when the latter appeared for interviews.
Following Chanda’s arrest on March 21, police summoned Funga to appear for an interview, but the officers decided to also record warn and caution statements from Chirwa-Ngoma, who had accompanied her.
The Defamation of the President clause is contained in Section 69 of the Penal Code.
The maximum penalty under the law is three years and there is also a provision for fine.
But Fourth Revolution leader Erick Chanda said the arrest is the worst persecution of citizens by a sitting President.
He vowed that he will be silenced and that he is ready to go to jail for speaking on behalf of Zambians.
Lets learn to respect our leaders, political affiliations notwithstanding. They potray the country’s image.
Mwa a Lungu things never cease to amaze, politics of maladministration won’t fix the economy.
Everyday its on each others “throats” now PF is taking media freedom away, something to be afraid of.
What PF doesn’t understand is that, any leadership has its opponents & politicians wannabe should accept this fact. Instead of persecuting opponents, PF should show their fruitful results, if any, ZERO.
Less 3 months to elections, PF is running around Visio lewdly, what about the economy issues in limbo? World Bank even blinked the confusion of the Kwacha yesterday. What is PF doing about load shedding instead thwarting media freedom?
Ain’t the “national prayer, repentance” with all Churches not helping sure?
Stay out of politics if you can’t handle the pressure of check & balance…
The president should then stop going to Mfuwe and playing pool because these are socializing activities. State House once reported that Lungu is down ro earth and would like to sneak out at night to go to the bar. Hmmmm observations now are against the law….
How is saying the president has gone clubbing and playing pool disrespectful, when have seen pictures of him playing the sport?? There is a difference between fear and respect. Edgar wants to be feared – but fcuk that. Kaunda days are gone.
… Resonance imaging to the Zuma impeachment of presidency in South Africa, Malema spoke freely b’coz its democratic human principle rights.
Its easy to blame journalist reporting than the editors. Any tickle to PF is retrograded.
Be strong PF, otherwise come what may, 11~8 is PF bye bye!
Pressure is on PF, Yaba.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
THINGS ARE FALLING APART IN LUNGU’S PF GOVERNMENT. NOW ZAMBIA IS A DICTATORSHIP COUNTRY UNDER EDGAR LUNGU. PLEASE REMIND LUNGU THAT ZAMBIA IS A DEMOCRACY, AND POLITICAL LEADERS HAVE TO BE CRITICISED FOR THERE DEEDS IN RUNNING THE AFFAIRS OF THE NATION.
Oh silly… Can we please scrap this Defamation of the President s!lly law? Everyone gets ‘defamed’ everyday, I get defamed everyday, why haven’t the police arrested my ‘defamars’? What’s so special about president Lungu? Is he some insecure tyrant god now? The most powerful man in the world, Obama gets ‘defamed’ every hour on end, did we see police charges against his ‘defamers’? No.
But is it true or not that ECL went to Mfuwe on working whatever it was, and did play pool.
I liken this to saying don’t discuss tri. bal.ism (because it will bring tri.ba.lism ) while Tongas are practising tr.iba.li.sm
Whatever this defamation law is, it is outdated and needs to be repealed. Defamation is not supposed to be criminalized, even if it has to do with a public government official, including the President. It’s should be a civil issue, and the party that feels injured by the defamation can sue. But it shouldn’t be made a crime, as doing so stifles freedom of speech and sets certain public officials as above criticism. The only thing that should be criminalized is a threat on a public official’s life. It’s such outdated laws that make African leaders feel they’re above criticism, and can do whatever they want. Should we deliberately publish unverified, untrue stories about public officials? Not at all. It goes against the ethics of journalism. But should it be criminalized?…
The President should be respected. I have nothing further to add but just to say Ba Lungu, you are winning the 2016 Election just work hard!
It is surprising that alliances are only made with a strong party and a weaker party. What about UPND and PF form an alliance now with HH as running mate or Lungu who ever is weak?
Go and eat poopooh iwe lunshi
WE ARE NOW CALLED ZAMBOBWE….WHERE CITIZENS ARE PERSECUTED FOR THEIR VIEWS – WE ARE NO LONGER A DEMOCRACY!!
DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT DEMOCRACY MEAN, IS DEMOCRACY SAYING STUPID THINGS, DO U EVER HAVE MORALS U. I SHOULD SUSPECT DAT U AR ONE OF THOSE WHO HAS NO GRADE 12 CERT.
THe statement does not amount to defamation of the President, can you compare this to the many statement that the late President Sata uttered to Late President Mwanawasa. Allow freedom of expression and avoid unnecessary intimdation. Zambia does not belong to PF or to President Lungu. What respect are you talking about
Do Zambians not have the freedom to call a spade a spade? Or a fool a fool?
Sata called his own ministers (including Lungu! ) foools! Why was he not arrested????
This is rubbish! Persecution by a scared little dictator! We must say NO to such nonsense.
We miss Levy Mwanawasa who was insulted day in day out by Michael Sata and PF and we never saw this clap Edga Lungu is showing us. ECL a typical leadership of Robert Mugabe who if re elected will be turned into a dictator. Already he has turned public media houses as his own property where every hour news, its Lungu, ?nonge Wina, Kambwili, Mumbi Phiri and so on. God of Abraham save us from greedy and selfish leaders. Lets do donch kubeba part 2
Ask your own God to save you. Leave the white man’s God to themselves, worship your God of Africa, or bra, bra..
Where your freedom of expression ends is where the rights of others begin. Mind what how you express yourself because there is no such a thing as absolute freedom. The rights of other people can put you behind bars because of your freedom.
I have never seen duch levels of intolerance in this country. What is Edgar Lungu doing to this country?
MENTALIST U AR NOT PART OF ZAMBIA, I SHOULD SUSPECT U COME FROM PLANET MARS WHERE THEY AR NO ROAD CONSTRUCTION, HOSPITALS, SKULS ETC, FROM YO NAME ONE COULD TEL THAT YOUR HEAD IS FULL OF DIRT WATER. DEVELOPMENT IS SEEN BY GENUINE ZAMBIANS NOT PIPO FROM PLANET MARS WHERE THERE IS NO DEVELOPMENT.
The amount of insults some of you have been uttering is clearly not only disgraceful, immoral but bordering on criminal. ECL has been very lenient in not pressing some of these matters further, in most cases its not even ECL but govt officers that are tasked to and follow up on such demeaning statements.
Ba Chanda nabo..this chap has grown fat in just one year soon he’ll join GBM and co in the league of big bodies small brains.
2016 ECL nafuti
What did you say? am sorry you don’t sound very clear with ECL’s D*ck in your mouth.
@2020vision
The fastest ballooning man in Zed is Edgar Lungu who has has had nutrition arrears covered by systemic alcholhol abuse for past 40 years in Chawama.
Take Lungu snapshot of Jan 2015 and current behemoth ….. Yet they said he has a narrow throat disease….so how come he now competes with chidumbo maliketi?
These are all cases that will enter “nolle prosequi” simply wasting taxpayers money and frustrating them!!
Watch this space in two months!!
Come on guys – let’s stop wasting taxpayers’ resources on irrelevant statutes that have been overtaken by time and technology. We are already helpless in controlling Internet-based media, what more the spoken word??? Let people express themselves, vulgar or not! I will protect your right to expression even if you insult me using that right!
Ubu bwena ebupuba fye ubukalamba. Come and arrest me as well.
pasa boma address ibwele ubone. usobelesa boma iwe ayi? uzachucha. uzakambila kusogolo. uzadya beans yobola. chosa belt. seluka pansapato
ba Erick Chanda, chefweniko ukwangala, kwateniko ukuichefwa shikulu. Kabili na party yenu mulifyemweka batata. Tabamipele inchito mwalefyaya kuli Edgar. You do not turn around like this to begin venting your frustration. Look back and see the good comments you used to make those days when you were expecting to be incorporated into the government. Your expectations were not met and since then you have been very critical shikulu. You used to be very objective once up on a time. You are wasting your political calibre. You are surely going into oblivion if you do not change your course of action. You won’t gain popularity through malice. Don’t think the public will sympathise with you for your malicious behaviour. Wake up and grow up batata!
Hamijanji Malambo, tell me did our President ba Lungu go to Mfuwe and did he or not play pool so is Erich lying or telling the truth. Please be honest
Typical PF blogger:
1. Uses a tonga pseudonym but will insult Paul Moonga”s origins whilst the latter like a castrated beast (oxen) looks on helplessly
2. The shibboleth does come up shortly as Muchinga dialect comes in handy
3. Vukgarity and hate speech trade mark is ubiquitous
4. North Korea style praise of the supreme leader closes the propaganda
Mwa Lungu awe Ku wayaya fye. This Lungu has been going around churches thinking that he has repented and cannot Humber any hatred against citizens but he is busy mistreating everyone.
We wonder who is going to vote for him with this kind of leadership.
Eric Chanda is talking on behalf of his own family. No one mandated him to be a spokes person to utter rubbish. I expect him to advise the president if at all he has anything sensible to share with him.
@Lazi, Namibia, our neighbour has no such law, but their president is more respected than lungu, and their economy much stronger than zambias. It is such laws that has made african presidents more untauchable, & have ruined the economies of their countries. The are no civilised countries with such laws any more. When you become a pubkic servant, you are respected because of what you have done, and not by an enforcement of the law.
Mr Chanda who appointed you to speak on behalf of all Zambians? Zambians do not send any one to demean a head of state. Shame on you Mr chanda, you are an African in our culture we know how to criticize elders not this pseudo foreign behaviour from you.
I cant wait for trial to start and the defence lawyer, the Learned Counsel Fred Mmembe to stand before the court and prove beyond reasonable doubt that indeed within a few weeks of taking office as republican president, one edgar c lungu did go to Mfuwe were he indulged in beer drinking and played pool.This information having been in the public domain as photos are available means that erica chanda’s observation do not amount to defamation.Lungu went to Mfuwe and was playing pool and drinking,PERIOD!
This is the most *****ic offence have ever heard of.
“to go to Mfuwe to socialise and play pool”. When did this become defamation. Obama is always being shown drinking and socialising all the time.
Problem with some African leaders, they want to behave holier than thou. If you drink, don’t pretend as if you don’t. It’s not an offense.