FREE Press Initiative (FPI) Zambia condemns brutal attack on ZNBC journalist

FREE Press Initiative (FPI) Zambia condemns brutal attack on ZNBC journalist

By George Zulu

FREE Press Initiative (FPI) Zambia has condemned the brutal attack and assault on ZNBC journalist Mark Ziligone by overzealous security officers from the Zambia Security and Intelligence Service commonly known as the Office of the President (OP).

And the Zambian Civil Liberties Union (ZCLU) has expressed sadness over the attack on Ziligone by the OP officers while performing his professional duties at the scene of an accident.

This is the third unprovoked attack on journalists in less than a month by State actors reflecting an escalation in infringements on press freedom in Zambia.

Kabwe-based Mast reporter Thandizo Banda was attacked and detained by police in Kabwe after taking a picture of Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis, who had gone to visit her murder-charged daughter Maria at Chowa Police Station.

The second attack was on Prime Television Chipata-based reporter Christopher Bazilio Banda, while covering Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) officers impounding motorcycles.

Banda was beaten and abused by the agitated police officers who tore his shirt and confiscated his phone.

Condemning the attack, FPI founder and chief executive officer Joan Chirwa said the attack was shameful and unacceptable, calling for action against the officers involved.

“This action is both shameful and unacceptable in a democratic society that values press freedom. No person should ever justify the physical attack of a journalist, especially one who had ably identified himself in the course of duty,” she said.

“In the case of Mr Ziligone, the officer involved openly acknowledged knowing him after he presented his press card, making the incident a clear and deliberate act of targeting.”

Chirwa urged the Office of the President (OP) to act by disciplining the wayward officers involved.

“We therefore call on the intelligence service to act swiftly and decisively by disciplining the officer involved, issuing an unreserved public apology to Mr Ziligone and giving a firm assurance that such attacks on journalists will never be tolerated again. The media is not anybody’s enemy. Our job is to serve the public by keeping citizens informed, and any attempt to silence or intimidate journalists is a direct affront to democracy,” Chirwa said.

She urged security wings to respect and protect journalists while they re carrying out their work.

Freedom of the press was not optional.

“Respect for press freedom by security wings should never be optional but a key requirement for the protection of citizens’ rights and the strengthening of our democracy,” she said.

And ZCLU deputy executive director Derick Chekwe said torture, assault and any form of inhumane treatment against journalists should never be tolerated in a society, calling for the arrest of the officer who attacked and slapped Ziligone.

“ZCLU is equally saddened by reports that Mark Ziligone, a journalist with ZNBC, was assaulted this morning [yesterday] by uniformed officers while performing his professional duties at the scene of an accident. We strongly condemn this conduct and urge law enforcement agencies to hold the officers involved accountable,” Chekwe said.

He said journalism was not a crime for which practitioners should be beaten, attacked, assaulted, and abused for doing.

Chekwe said his organisation would next year launch its first Zambia Human Rights Report (ZHRR) for 2025, which would include such infringements against the press.