Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader Antonio Mwanza has welcomed President Hakainde Hichilema’s decision to refer the proposed CCTV Bill back to Parliament, saying the move helps safeguard citizens’ privacy and provides an opportunity to address major concerns within the legislation.
President Hichilema recently declined to assent to the Bill, stating that in its current form it poses a significant risk of intruding into the private lives of citizens.
Mwanza praised the decision, noting that national security measures should protect the public rather than subject them to unnecessary monitoring.
“Security must protect citizens, not spy on them. By sending the Bill back to Parliament, the President has defended constitutional rights and created space to fix these serious flaws before any such law is imposed on the Zambian people,” he said.
He cautioned that the Bill, as currently drafted, grants broad authority to install and manage CCTV systems without clear limitations, which could expose citizens to widespread surveillance.
“This opens the door to mass and indiscriminate monitoring of ordinary citizens going about their daily lives,” Mwanza said.
He also raised concerns over data protection provisions, arguing that unclear guidelines on the storage, access, and sharing of surveillance footage could put personal information at risk.
“Without strict safeguards, citizens’ personal data can be misused, abused, leaked, or exploited. The proposed oversight structures lack real independence. There are no strong checks to prevent abuse by state agencies or private entities running surveillance systems,” he added.
Mwanza further criticised the absence of strong judicial oversight, emphasising that surveillance measures should require court authorisation to meet constitutional standards of necessity and proportionality.
Additionally, he noted that key stakeholders, including civil society organisations and digital rights experts, were not adequately consulted during the drafting process.
Only a f00l commends a crook