The Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) in Livingstone says it is deeply concerned with the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ)’s harassment of journalists.
FODEP Livingstone District Chairperson Gideon Musonda says his organisation is concerned the continual denial of journalists by LAZ to cover the official opening of their meeting was unfortunate.
Mr. Musonda says its more saddening to learn that there demeaning remarks attributed to one of LAZ staff who called journalists ‘gate crushers’.
He said it was expected that institutions such as LAZ, after the World Press Freedom Day on May 3, would be in the forefront in the promotion of easy access to information and other related media freedoms.
“People of Zambia have the right to access news or information from various media sources hence, it is important that journalists from various media houses are granted access to cover such important meetings that attracted public interest in view of recent divisions in LAZ,” he said.
Mr. Musonda said it was disrespectful for LAZ officials to regard journalists as “gate crushers” when they were invited by the Ministry of Finance to cover the opening which was graced by Finance Minister Felix Mutati.
“It is disrespectful by anybody to regard media as gate crushers as journalists go in the field to look for information and it is not always that they only cover events upon invitation,” he said.
He further said media played an important role in the governance system of the nation; deserved respect and all stakeholders should support and endeavor to better the environment in which media operated by granting easy access to coverage.
“FODEP wishes to call for an immediate dialogue between LAZ and Livingstone Press Club as a representative of Livingstone journalists to harmonize their relationship,” he said.
Last Thursday, Ministry of Finance Head of Media and Public Relations Chileshe Kandeta invited Livingstone based journalists to cover Finance Minister Honourable Felix Mutati at the opening of the 2017 LAZ annual law conference and general meeting.
However, LAZ secretariat barred the scribes and threatened to chase them away despite being told the invitation came through the Ministry of Finance.
Useless organisation.
When PF was chasing journalists from state house did you say anything ?
Lungu himself had to intervene.
This Musonda must be a PF cadre. Just look at his name. They have infiltrated every organisation, snooping and victimising Zambians everywhere.
There absolutely nothing wrong with LAZ calling them gate crushers, they had no accreditation to cover the event. The problem with pf cadres they are just too fanatical for nothing. Maybe this musonda is part of the pf lawyers who lost the case against the linda kasonde led executive.
Lungu intervened, did Linda K intervene?
They are not worthy to be called journalist anyway
Very good observation above by spaka. Just because we now only have pf journalists left after lungu successfully eliminated independent media, the bought fodep are crying as instructed by that rat lungu
Some journalists can even eat bones!
No wonder we have no press freedom laws in Zambia. Instead we have criminal defamation and yet we have lawyers
If they barred the PF Cadre journalists,then that is not a problem and well within their rights.
Who said there is press freedom in Zambia left? U can’t call znbc personal as journalists those are die-had pf carders. So bigups to laz for being ahed of the useless pf carders ati ba znbc????? Not anymore….
Yaba, imwe ba NEZ na banenu, can’t you keep away from donkey comments, just for a day please! You are losing value ka, anyway as someone wrote UPND is dying, its leader is going in for a long while, and its deputy “leader” is wrong tribe to be accepted, “monkey in a maize field” to quote a favourite line by HH before the campaigns.
Where it suits the pathetic tribalistic upnd supporters, it is ok. Just look at the tribal comments above?? And you call these people normal?? One instance, PF is clamping down on free press, their cartel/upnd infiltrated LAZ harass journalists, it is ok since the journalists are PF thugs!! When Macdonald Chipenzi issued a statement without consulting the FODEP board, he is ok, when Gideon Musonda issues a statement with the full support of the board, he is just a bemba monkey. FELLOW ZAMBIANS, THESE EVIL TRIBALISTS SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED NEAR THE REIGNS OF POWER OF THIS COUNTRY, THEY ARE CAPABLE OF DOING GREAT HARM TO THE EXISTENCE OF OUR SOCIETY. IN 2011, 2015 & 2016 YOU VOTED WISELY, WE NEED TO DO IT AGAIN IN 2021.
Are telling me Mutati invited the private media?
He invited govVuvuzela, Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily Mail, ZNBC and Daily Nation, to go and discredit LAZ for defeating Lungu.
Why should the Ministry of Finance invite the journalists to the event they were not hosting? Can you be invited to the wedding and you also invite other people to join you when you are not the host? Umungulu weka weka.
I saw Linda in full she is a little fat ugly thing not this picture on Lt.
Mr. Mutati as a Government Official (Minister of Finance) was there as an invited guest to officiate so journalists should be there and he has got the right to invite journalists of his choice. Boma was on duty so who is LAZ to chase them? Why did they invite him in the first place? Is it not that he was the most high there?
There is a Typographical or grammatical Error – should be GATE CRASHERS AND NOT CRUSHERS