Thursday, March 28, 2024

Harassment of journalists by Zambia Police worries East PS

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EASTERN Province Permanent Secretary, Chanda Kasolo, speaking when he officiated at this year’s Tuwimba traditional ceremony of the Nsenga people of Nyimba district on Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN MUKOBEKO/ZANIS
EASTERN Province Permanent Secretary, Chanda Kasolo, speaking when he officiated at this year’s Tuwimba traditional ceremony of the Nsenga people of Nyimba district on Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN MUKOBEKO/ZANIS

Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo has described the attitude of Zambia Police officers at the last 2018 Nc’wala traditional ceremony of the Ngoni people at Mtenguleni village in Chipata as worrying.

Mr. Kasolo said Journalists had a right to apply their work freely in order to collect accurate data and information at the event without harassment.

The permanent secretary was reacting to the letter issued to him by ZANIS Provincial Information Officer Euphrasia Banda who complained against the manhandling of the media by some security officers at the 2018 Nc’wala ceremony in Chipata district.

This follows a Lusaka based ZANIS Cameraperson Fedelis Mulenga was manhandled and ejected out of the main Nc’wala arena by some security officers at the event.

Mr. Mulenga met his fate when he (Mulenga) attempted to reason with a police officer who wanted to remove a ZANIS technician manning the Public address System from thebmain arena and was slapped in the process.

The PS has described the action by police officers as worrying adding that, instead of them exhibiting professionalism and ensuring peace and tranquility in the execution of duties they went wild harassing the media.

Mr. Kasolo said the police are supposed to be in front line carrying out duties and ensuring that there is peace as opposed to being trouble makers during important events.

Mr. Kasolo said Journalists should work hand in hand with Police officers and vise vesa in supplying information to the public, hence the collaboration between the two remains vital.

And Eastern Province Police Chief Luckson Sakala has condemned and described the attitude of the police officers as unfortunate.

Mr. Sakala said the objective of the media and of the police at the end of point was one and the same hence the need for them to work in harmony.

He has since assured the media in the province that he will not tolerate a re-occurrence of what happened at the ceremony among his officers.

Journalists who covered Nc’wala ceremony have expressed concern with the manner in which police harassed the journalist.

This comes hardly in a space of two months when a Daily Mail Journalist was again harassed by the men and women in uniform during the cleaning up exercise which is a source of concern to the media fraternity in the province.

13 COMMENTS

  1. What are you doing about the officer that manhandled the journalist? Show leadership hear and take the cop to task.

    • Why is this random PS being given coverage? Lungu should fire him. Does he not know that Police get orders from Mwami 1 Chagwa and so does the Judiciary! Lungu has muddled everything up and the PS does foolishly not know! Incompetency in an incompetent system.

    • Why is this random PS being given coverage? Lungu should fire him. Does he not know that Police get orders from Mwami 1 Chagwa and so does the Judiciary! Lungu has muddled everything up and the PS does not know! Incompetency in an incompetent system.

  2. If it was a muvi tv, mast or prime tv journalist, ba kapoli in opposition would be having press briefings in RSA saying dictatorship. Now it’s govt. journalists and they are quiet??? Bottomline: ZP needs urgent reform!!!

  3. What are you doing about the officer that manhandled the journalist? Show leadership here and take the cop to task.

  4. When the media belongs to government all government officers such as Police officers assume that they should be in charge of this media. They can slap them and tell them to toe the line as in General orders. Free the media first. Get the media out of government hands!

  5. Please send the army to deal with them(the police). They need displine especially the traffic business men and women. They even by there own vehicles to use for collections.

  6. Mr. Kasolo, this is all because of lack of leadership in Zambia. You might be a good leader but if you have rotten leadership on top, none would be achieved. Zambia is a failed state sir. Police behave the way they behave because of conflicting instructions from everywhere. For example they would receive instructions from the eastern province command or state house or IG or Kaiza Zulu depending on the sensitivity of a function, that’s confusion right there. The police are confused in Zambia, they don’t know who to listen to hence behave in chipantepante fashion. You can’t run a country like that sir. Zambian leaders need to start behaving like human beings for God sake.

    • You are very right bro. These police are professional and are taught in a professional way I believe but their hands are tied because like you mentioned any one in the corridor of power just wakes up and commands them. Any PF cadre can basically command them and they obey. We really need a rule of law for Zambia to develop. Police should be above all politicians except president and the police command.

  7. Analyser for your own information, Chanda Kasolo is no body like yourself. This is a man who was organising and managing PF in UK when you guys who are talking finish and nausea where insulting Michael Sata and demeaning him that he will never rule Zambia. Mr Kasolo is an educated man even if he left or sacked by Chakolwa Lungu Chanda will lead a normal and prosperous life. Mr Kasolo was the one financing OF and when Michael Sata called him to help , he was confident Michael meant it.
    2: The Kasolo family are well respected and mannered. The young brother is Mr Kasolo chief executive for ZCCM HOLDINGS the man who has turned the fortunes of this parastal company and fighting the battle that are in London court of law $1.2 billion from Kansashi mines. So even your lungu were to…

  8. Analyser for your own information, Chanda Kasolo is no body like yourself. This is a man who was organising and managing PF in UK when you guys who are talking without sense where insulting Michael Sata and demeaning him that he will never rule Zambia. Mr Kasolo is an educated man even if he left or sacked by Chakolwa Lungu Chanda will lead a normal and prosperous life. Mr Kasolo was the one financing PF and when Michael Sata called him to help , he was confident Michael meant it.
    2: The Kasolo family is well respected and mannered. The young brother is Mr Kasolo chief executive for ZCCM HOLDINGS the man who has turned the fortunes of this parastal company and fighting the battle that are in London court of law $1.2 billion from Kansashi mines. So even your lungu were to terminate…

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