By W. E Kamirichiki, PhD

Some aspects of Zambia’s Cybercrimes law such as against Zambia’s runaway pornography industry, cyber-bulling, and other cyber-space enabled crimes have serious merit and deserves applause. In fact, it was long overdue given what is clearly alarming profiles, severity, and intensity of cybercrimes worldwide, according to Cyber Crimes Watch, a cybercrimes watch and analysis site.

Zambia’s new Cybercrimes law even with its supposed positive societal effects will likely encounter challenges in implementation and legal responses from those unhappy with the background legislative manoeuvres attending to its passage. Clearly though, the rest of this law is politically motivated self-serving garbage meant to shield the regime and ruling PF party from righteous criticism of its governance record. That, it has cleverly dressed it under “hate” provision in the law.

Like most irrelevant ruling parties of fading consequence in Africa’s dictatorships such as in Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Zambia’s ruling PF party and regime sired this law for supposed political dividends, especially as August political warfare picks steam. Like a copycat dictatorship, the PF regime has now officialised its repression by trafficking and legitimizing it under the cover of the leviathan power of law the regime has arrogated to itself. Given the technical profile of most of the regime’s enablers and legislators, it is anyone’s guess the size of the gap of their (mis) understanding of the cybercrimes law.

With such a background, and with “cybercrime” prevented, the clueless and reckless PF regime then gets to waitress on its own served menu of governance lies and marinated PF violence in Zambia’s physical space.

It is certain that the courts of law will work overtime in the near future to interpret and adjudicate on a boatload of overzealous and bogus cases that regime enablers will paste on their political opponents for alleged cyber-defamation or reputational infractions on regime enablers, including on Mr.Lungu himself.

Cybercrimes law that shields society from legitimately harmful and illegal content, or that prosecutes crimes around misuse and abuse of information technology is welcome. But law which seeks to constrain free exchange of constructive personal views and opinions, or that which inhibits public debate and encroaches on human rights is not welcome and is open to both legal and political resistance. Moreover, it is foolhardy to use law as a tool to persecute protected speech by government critics and silence online media and dissenting voices. A regime that stifles democracy by muzzling means of communication by whatever means, including manipulating the law, is thoughtless. Why? Because once the citizenry is silenced, the regime loses access to instructive sounds of constructive criticism of its aggrieved citizen that could well re-track it back to good governance. Perhaps, the PF regime needs a reminder that history is replete with footnoted cemeteries of dictatorships that denied their people grievance spaces.

But again, law is also political warfare by other means. And that is why regime change in the upcoming August general elections is crucially important as a minimum starting point to undo potential covid-like savage effects of some aspects of this cybercrime law.

Perhaps the future the disgraced PF will walk into is this: One in which they pre-weaved a vindictive and targeted political cobweb against regime opponents disguised as criminal law which, on foresight will entangle them too. Once out of power, the PF regime will find that their otherwise constructive weapons and avenues of political criticism will now be cyberlaw-constrained.

We pray this will be one of the final egregious legal epitaphs that will be emblazoned on the PF grave as Zambians bury them in August Polls.

By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

It’s okey for one to provide a critical opinion about his own country, but it’s totally unacceptable for one to scandalise it, sow a false narrative and deliberately cause unjustified international alarm and cause untold reputation damage to it.

This is what Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa has done in a written and paid for Op-Ed published in the Mail and Guardian newspaper (22 March 2021) of South Africa.

Sishuwa is a Lecturer in modern history, with research and teaching interests in 19th and 20th century African History at the University of Zambia.

He has “predicted” that Zambia will explode after the 12th August 2021, because of its alleged collapsing instutions, purported deep polarization, and what he claims is the prevalence of mass poverty, high intolerable levels of unemployment, extreme inequalities, restless and violent party cadres and a desperate political elite.
Sishuwa neglects to state that Zambia has tested democratic institutions, an alert and active civil society and a diligent population that is determined to maintain the development, peace and security of its country.

He has also neglected to state that Zambia has seen democratic and peaceful transfer of power in 1991, 2001, and 2011 and the holding of elections is a normal activity in its life and democratic calendar.

It should be stated that Zambia has seen the Opposition win election and remarkably and peacefully given power in 1991 and 2011. I do not need to remind Sishuwa that Zambia’s electoral system is ranked highly in Africa as shown on so many indices because it is deemed open, transparent, and credible.

Elections in Zambia are conducted in the full glare of public scrutiny, with local and international observers present. The politcal parties are allowed accredited agents and observers inside all polling and totalling centres. Most importantly, results are counted, announced and published at the polling station in the presence of party agents and elections observers.

To show that Sishuwa’s opinion is extremely unfounded and careless, I refered Zambia to the Continental Early Warning System(CEWS). The CEWS is a conflict early warning operation within the African Peace and Security architecture (APSA) of the African Union. This is a tool we use at the African Union to predict potential conflicts and threats to peace and security in Africa and its member states, and if possible recommend the best courses of action.

Zambia is not a failed State and is not about to become one as asserted in the alarming write-up and prisms of Sishuwa. Zambia has a thriving and enviable democracy. It has a fiercely independent Judiciary as seen by the many cases won against government, a thriving legislature that can even collapse heavily invested government Constitutional bills.

This can be said about other institutions of democracy in the country. The country has over 130 radio stations, over 40 independent television stations, an active civil society and clearly practices the rule of law. If this is the state, then what’s driving Sishuwa’s paid for Opinion?

After serving for four years as High Commissioner to South Africa, I can even guess who paid for that Op-Ed article in the Mail & Guardian. My appeal is that despite one’s disdain for the PF, or deep contempt for its government and its leader, we should never be driven to desperate levels deliberately designed to injure the reputation and good standing of our country.

For Zambia is above all of us, Zambia will be there beyond the ruling Patriotic Front. Why burn Zambia because one is facing a possible and inevitable electoral loss of his party or one that he or she sympathizes with? Mulefwaya uku filila munsenga?

Zambia will remain peaceful and the predictions and false narratives and prophecies about her, will never take root or come to pass.

The Author is Zambia’s ?? Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union.