By Fred M’membe President of the Socialist Party

Human liberation is basically a question of moral and spiritual values. If a person sees the meaning of one’s life in one’s material well-being, accumulating wealth becomes an end in itself – “eat and drink for tomorrow you will be dead”. If, on the other hand, a person sees the meaning of one’s life in spiritual values, that is the love of God and the love of one’s neighbour, then material possessions become mere means towards an end.

Faith in God should free a person from enslavement to one’s material possessions and enable one to use the riches of this world towards truly human ends, that is living a life of love in communion with God and one’s fellow persons.

The radical transformation that is necessary to free a human being in the very depth of one’s heart from selfishness and greed is a gift from God. No one can give oneself this “new heart” (Ez 11: 18-19).

It’s not by fighting to the bitter end, but by analysing the causes of the conflict and by resolving it, that we can create conditions in which the self-reliant efforts of our people will bear fruit. We can only build such a society with the free cooperation of all its members.

A human being finds fulfilment in committing one’s whole person in freedom to the service of one’s fellow human beings.

Our party has adopted many pastors or revends as parliamentary and local government candidates. For them, only with God’s help can we transform a society inclined to greed, selfishness and hatred into a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17), capable of love, compassion and generosity. It’s God’s work through them. As followers of Christ, put all their trust in the kingdom of God. Far from waiting its arrival in passivity, they strive with all their might towards its realisation here and now well knowing, however, that God alone, who has announced its coming through Christ, will bring about its completion. This is the way in which we are pursuing our aim of radical transformation of our people and society.

Spirituality refers not only to our spiritual life. It refers to a human being as a whole, in his or her spiritual and bodily unity. In the Gospels, the totality of the human being is what brings life to the spirit. Thus, spirituality isn’t the way you feel the presence of God. Nor is it the way you believe. Jesus said, “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Thus, spirituality is a way of living life according to the spirit. For Christians, living is the best way of believing. Faith without deeds is worthless; as James stated, “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is all-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith, by itself, if it has not works, is dead” (James 2:14 -17).
Our way of life is the result of what we believe.

If we consider the Gospel accounts, we can clearly see that Jesus’ spirituality wasn’t one of withdrawal from the world, of moving away from everyday life in order to better serve God, or of denying earthly realities. In John 17:15, Jesus asked his Father to keep his disciples from evil without taking them out of the world.

Jesus’ entire existence was one of immersion in the ideological conflict, in the arena where different concepts and options for or against the oppressed, exploited, humiliated, marginalised were discussed. Nor was Jesus’ spirituality that of moralism. That is the spirituality of the Pharisees, who turn their moral virtues into a sort of conquest of sanctity. Many Christians have been trained along these lines and lose strength in their faith because they don’t manage to adjust to the pharisaical moralism they seek. God seems to live on top of the mountain, and spirituality is taught as a manual for mountain climbing to be used by Christians interested in scaling its steep slopes. Since we are of a fragile nature, we begin our climb over and over again – it is the constant repetition of the Sisyphus legend, rolling the stone uphill.

By Anthony Mukwita

When President Edgar Lungu signed the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes bill into law on 23rd March 2021, reactions from citizens and interest groups were mixed.
Some liked it others hated it, albeit, it had gone full circle in parliament before reaching the President’s desk for his signature.
As a diplomat and published author, every time there´s a new development in my beautiful country Zambia, I study it to prepare myself for questions from colleagues in need of the ´bare bones´ of the development at one point or another.

WHAT IS A CYBER CRIME?

Laws are often penned to correct or prevent a wrong, so firstly I sought to know what constitutes a cyber-crime the new law seeks to cure or prevent, I found a few below:
Among the top are Hate Speech, peddling Child Pornography that could permanently harm our children, Identity Theft, this is when someone steals your identity and use it to commit a crime, Malware, which is when your computers safety is compromised with the aim of stealing your valuable information.

Others are Phishing, Cryptojacking, Cyber Espionage or even slandering and libelling others under the veil of the internet or cyber space, the most common crime in Zambia especially since the rise of the use of the internet on platforms such as Facebook or chat groups.

In Zambia, cyber bulling has become a buzz word that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth but I will concentrate on the economic side of things and skirt away from the political side of things.

A study I read states that ostensibly, “hundreds of millions of cyber attacks occur in Africa annually with up to billions of dollars schemed by offenders that go largely undetected and unpunished” either because of lack laws or tech inabilities by governments.

ZAMBIA LOOSES BILLIONS OF KWACHA VIA THE INTERNET

This is something rarely told in public because of the sensitivity of the banking sector, but Zambian commercial banks have not been left unscathed.
According to a 2016 cyber-attacks study, “Zambia lost up to US$4 million, almost K100 million, in a year about six years ago at the hands of cyber criminals that hacked bank records with the help of local and international cartels according to one study.”
Other African countries such as Ivory Coast recorded about 1,409 cyber-attack complaints in courts in one year recently but the numbers seem to be dropping due to new laws with cash losses of about 8.9 million euros, billions of CFA.

AFRICA THE HAVEN OF CYBER CRIMINALS

Another study says, “Africa has become a nest of cybercriminals of all kinds. For instance, those who specialise in the “419” scam, named after article 419 in Nigerian criminal law, that penalises fraud and specifies the fines and other penalties for this sort of crime.”
The same study says close to home South Africa is worst affected because, “70 percent of South Africans have been hit by a cyber-crime, which is 50 percent of the world average.”

Zambia is among economies more exposed to cyber crimes than any other economies in the world, especially the rich west and Asia and it remains more vulnerable in the absence of laws stipulating punishment.

South African companies lost more than US$500 million dollars in 2014 alone.

ENTER THE ZAMBIAN MOBILE MONEY SECTOR

The rise in mobile banking popularly known as Airtel of MTN money has increases the threat of cyber-crimes says the study.

THE PROS AND CONS OF THE NEW LAW

Given the aforementioned scenario, it appears to me that the new law signed by President Lungu is necessary to punish and prevent those that nilly willy commit crimes online behind the veil of the internet.

I have no doubt that parents want their innocent children protected from perverts and peodofiles masquerading as Ice Cream salesmen online while every person with a bank account wants to ensure their money is safe and accounts are protected by the law.

I have no doubt that everyone wants to enjoy their integrity and not be opened to ridicule on Facebook by people spewing hate, insults and contempt, often without cause under the cover of cyber space, I must know I have been a target.

President Lungu ought to be commended for bravely signing the law (like he did when he signed the 50 percent plus one in 2016) that is expected to spike down the peddling of hate speech and insults that became a daily order in Zambia.

IS THE CYBER LAW OPEN TO ABUSE?

Concerns abound that the cyber law could be abused, just like any law and the answer is if there´s no vigilance, which Zambia isn’t short of, any law is open to abuse.
We are lucky to have a lawyer for a President whom I know would have cancelled out any abuse red flags before inking the law.
It’s also important to note that this law is not cast in stone like the laws of Moses but is open to amendments if found to be excessive.
Historically whenever a new law is introduced, reactions are mixed, which is normal in a democracy.

THE FEAR CREEPETH ON THE BACK OF THE LAW

Evidently, however, those fond of insulting and calling others names under the guise of the internet resent the new cyber law.
In conclusion, President Lungu who once said, “a stitch in time saves nine,” because a plan is better than no plan.

Don’t forget that some of the crimes committed online result into death like the 2013 Westgate attack at a mall in Nairobi Kenya were terrorists killed 68 people and injured 200.

I got additional readings for this essay from a paper entitled “Cyber Crimes in Africa 2016” and the new Zambian cyber law 2021, which is available to the public on only.

The Author is the Ambassador of Zambia to Germany. This personal essay was inspired by the recent enactment of the Cyber Security law of Zambia by President Edgar Lungu on 23rd March 2021.