The non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has made a strong statement in favour of freedom of the press by offering several banned websites solutions to circumvent the government’s efforts to block access by citizens.

Today, a mirrored version of Zambia Reports was put up by Reporters Without Borders, allowing many readers in Zambia the first opportunity to read independent news in more than a week.  Earlier, the organisation had established a mirror site of Zambian Watchdog, which has also been blocked by the government, however the IP address of this mirror was also blocked within hours.

RSF first began creating mirrored websites to battle censorship in 2012, allowing volunteers to download databases to host on different web servers in order to run censored content on any number of parallel websites, outpacing the government censors.

To evade the “Zambezi Firewall,” many bloggers and reporters have taken to social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook, which has prompted the government to explore options of limiting access to these platforms as well.

The Patriotic Front government of President Michael Sata has taken an increasingly hostile approach toward independent journalism in the country, with the unexplained blocking of both Zambia Reports and Zambian Watchdog, as well as three recent arrests of journalists, including one who has not yet been released from prison.

The post Press Freedom Group Helps Circumvent Net Censorship in Zambia appeared first on Zambia Reports.

A spate of riots is sweeping across Central Province High Schools with Ibolela High School being the latest where pupils ran amok burning down classrooms in protest of a poor diet and also unsatisfactory management of the school.

The riot at Ibolela comes barely 48 hours after Mukando High School pupils in Serenje also rioted over similar complaints with Serenje Technical High School pupils also joining the growing list of discontent in high schools.

Panic has gripped the Ministry of Education with police officers being deployed at the named schools to monitor the situation. The Ministry of Education was forced to close Evelyn Hone College after similar riots left damages at the public institution.

The post Another Riot Hits Central Province School appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Patriotic Front Chibwefu Ward Councillor Topsy Kunda was forced to apologize to United Party for National Development officials after his effort to grab car keys for their cars was thwarted.

Kunda, who is part of the PF campaign team in the Mkushi North parliamentary by-election, had grabbed car keys and threatened to deal with anybody who was going to challenge him but angry UPND cadres sought police intervention and the cadre was forcibly made to hand back the keys.

He later claimed he had acted high handedly as he had thought the campaign period for Thursday’s poll had closed.
Kunda later apologized for his action.

The post ‘Violent’ PF Cadre Thwarted in Mkushi appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Lubansenshi Independent Member of Parliament says President Michael Sata’s statement that only areas who vote for PF will receive development amounts to political blackmail.

Commenting on President Sata’s sentiments in Chipata that only constituencies that will usher in PF MPs will be developed Mucheleka said the mark of true leadership stemmed from rising above partisan and sectarian interests.

“It is the duty of the Head of State to develop all areas once elected to the highest office of the land. What President Sata said in Chipata amounts to political blackmail because if he does that the people will also see it fit to do the same to him once they oblige,” he said.

“Good leadership means being able to rise above partisan and sectarian interests because you become a national leader for everyone including those who did not vote for you.”

He added: “It is a failure of leadership to resort to such cheap and desperate tactics.”

The post Mucheleka Challenges Sata’s Development for a Vote Campaign Message appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) Chipangali member of parliament Vincent Mwale yesterday told Patriotic Front supporters to kill all Zambians opposed to President Michael Sata’s regime.

This was during a heated confrontation between ruling Patriotic Front cadres and MMD supporters at a Police Station ahead of the Thursday by-election in Chipata. The fracas was triggered after President Sata’s personal bodyguard Judge Ngoma fired live shots to disperse a meeting by MMD.

Judge Ngoma went to the police when MMD youths responded and at the station, supporters of the two parties clashed at which Mwale had also escorted president Nevers Mumba.

“This country does not belong to an individual,” Mwale told police officers as he sought a medical report report following an attack by PF cadres.

He was in the process pushed around and warned that he’ll die after which he responded; “yes, kill us all.”

Private television station, Muvi were present and captured events in this video.

The post Video: Kill Us All appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Government has threatened to de-register Non Governmental Organizations that have vowed not to oblige the 90 day compliance period of the new NGO.

Community Development Minister Doctor Joesph Katema says the CSOs have no option but to obey the new law that has been widely condemned or face closure.

“The Act is now law so they either have to obey or face closure. We have given them a 90 day window programme and if they do not follow it they will have to bear the full consequences,” Katema said.

“Once an Act has been passed there is nothing anybody can do in punishing them we will simply be following the law.”

CSOs have opposed the NGO Act number 16 of 2009 that strengthens to strangulate their operations with several restrictions.

The post PF Threatens to De-Register NGOs appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Government has shut down three Central Province High Schools following riots that occurred at the three institutions where pupils were protesting a poor diet and also poor management.

Meanwhile, Central Province Commanding Officer Standwell Lungu says five Serenje Technical High pupils have been charged with malicious damage to government property and will be taken to court.

The affected schools are Serenje Technical High, Justin Mukando and Ibolela High.

Education Minister made the announcement saying the schools would remain shut until September 8 when government hoped to have normalized the situtation.

Phiri also warned school managers that they will would be removed from their positions for failing to run the schools effectively.

“The schools will be closed until September 8 and the earlier announcement that grade twelves will be open on August 12 no longer stands,” Phiri said.

“Let me also warn school managers that they will also be removed for failing to address these problems early enough.”

However, teachers have indicated that they will just be sacrificed as they run the schools on shoe string budgets.

And the police command in Serenje has released the 25 pupils arrested with only five remaining in detention.

The post Three Schools in Central Province Closed appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Kusala was a very frightened city. There was a serial killer on the loose. Every other week another corpse was found. Not only that, but there were body parts missing. Sometimes the eyes, sometimes the brain, sometimes the heart. And the police were making no progress. But to be fair to the Zombie Police, they had never been trained to investigate, only to follow orders in locking up the enemies of the government.

If the police had been interested in investigations, they might have taken an interest in the strange goings on at the Kusala Museum. This sinister memorial for the one-party state faithfully and reverentially preserved all the relics, bones, charms, chains and instruments of torture from this bygone age.

Visitors to the museum had been complaining for months of the strange sickly smell of formaldehyde which permeated the museum. But the janitor at the museum, Professor Winterstein, had always explained that there was nothing unusual about the smell, because he had to use formaldehyde to preserve the bones and relics which would otherwise be eaten by termites, or even by the visitors. For this was a very hungry time in the starving city of Kusala.

But if there had been any detective to detect, he would have found that the sweet sickly smell of formaldehyde was not coming from the exhibits on the lower floors, but was permeating slowly down from the uppermost floor. It was here that Professor Winterstein had his own apartment, right under the glass dome which formed the roof of the museum.

Or rather, to be more precise, this was where Winterstein had his laboratory, where he also lived as a recluse. For the professor was also an earnest and dedicated researcher into the occult, dedicated to finding the secret of eternal life. More precisely, his project was to collect the parts from various corpses and sew them all together into a new human being. And not only into a new human being, but a superman. A man of extraordinary intelligence, wisdom, courage and strength. For Winterstein was one of the most dangerous people on Earth – he had a passion to do good.

One of the most mysterious aspects of the serial killings was that the victims were mostly prominent citizens, and always with a different part cut out. The body of a politician was found his tongue cut out. The body of a judge had been found with no brain. The priest had no heart. The wrestler had both his arms missing. The city’s most famous womanizer was found with his essential equipment entirely missing.

All this was because Winterstein was following his theory that society is flawed because of our human imperfections. We had clever people with no heart, people who talked excessively but without brains, and fools with excessive reproductive energy to reproduce more fools, and so on. Winterstein’s aim was therefore to build a perfectly balanced man whose parts were all excellent – a superman!

But the theory went further. Winterstein had seen that government, like the human body, had its own specialized parts. The executive was the tongue, which gave the orders, the judiciary the brain, parliament the rules, the opposition the devil’s advocate, civil society the heart, the media the eyes, investigating agencies the nose, always sniffing. But each part was always arguing with the other, and government was going nowhere.

So Professor Winterstein had the brilliant idea of bringing all the best of these organs into one body. And this one body would unite all the different organs of the state, which would then work together without argument or discord or conflict, provided everybody did as they were told by Superman. All the previous failings of the one-party state would now be overcome as it was personified into the rule of Winterstein’s Monster.

And then, after Winterstein had sewn together all the parts, and erected the high copper antenna above the museum, there finally came the fateful night of a big thunder storm, the climax to Winterstein’s great experiment. Down came a great bolt of lightning straight into the borrowed heart of the monster, who quivered with life, and lurched up from the huge laboratory bench and staggered in the direction of the brilliant professor.

‘You are my Superman!’ squealed Winterstein, ‘Look at yourself in the mirror! See how beautiful you are! You have all the best qualities of several humans all rolled into one!’

‘You fool,’ roared the monster, as he staggered towards the mirror. ‘I am an ugly monster, not made in the image of God but in the image of the idiot Winterstein! How shall I ever find a wife?’

‘You are made from all the very best organs,’ squealed Winterstein excitedly, ‘all working in perfect harmony’

‘They are all working against each other,’ bellowed the monster, ‘I’m in the most terrible agony.’ So saying the monster picked up little Winterstein and hurled him off the museum roof, where he met his death by crashing into the Freedom Statue, which remains to this day with broken chains.

And then Winterstein’s Monster leapt down from the museum roof and into the city, where people screamed and threw stones when they saw him coming. So he ran all the way to Zumbubwe, where One-Party Monsters are better understood.

And for the next week a strange sickly smell of formaldehyde pervaded the entire city of Kusala, so much so that the government had to put out a statement that the chemical had been found leaking from all Zombiebeef products, and that all the directors had been arrested.

And that was the last time that anybody tried to re-introduce the one-party state in Zombieland.

Source: Kalaki’s Korner

The post Kalaki’s Korner: Winterstein’s Monster appeared first on Zambia Reports.

It is extremely difficult to fathom the extent to which Zambia’s judicial system has suddenly broken down, so broken that the rule of law and the respect of the country’s most important piece of legislation – the constitution – is as bad as a collection of a few pieces of toilet paper rolled together with some inscription no one bothers consider.

The earlier Zambians admit there a big problem in the country the better to finding a lasting solution in the interest of the future generation. No prizes for guessing why barely two years after installing one Michael Sata in State House, the situation has degenerated faster than the speed of the Internet in Zambia.

George Kunda, the late Vice-President, once warned Zambians when Post Newspaper editor Fred M’membe had teamed up with President Michael Sata to oust fourth Republican president Rupiah Banda. Kunda, may his soul rest in peace, was a dedicated lawyer who served the Law Association of Zambia at the same time he was a columnist for The Post Newspaper – at the time a vibrant mouthpiece for majority of the poor Zambians.

That means Kunda had a close relationship with the now Patriotic Front chief propagandist Fred M’membe. Kunda went on to become Attorney General and justice minister in President Levy Mwanawasa’s government. After years of arm-twisting Mwanawasa, M’membe successfully garnered some space to call the government shots but only to a certain extent.

What M’membe may then have been interested in was some ordinary business connections but the fact that he had tested power and realized how sweet it was, he yearned for more. And through those schemes, his midnight meetings at State House with Mwanawasa, there are people who monitored and pierced through his narrow thinking.

Kunda was one of them and he vehemently would oppose some of his queer suggestions to Mwanawasa. And because Mwanawasa trusted Kunda more than M’membe, your guess whose advise was more genuine to the third Republican president is as good as mine.

Moreover, Mwanawasa was no ordinary constable in the colonial police like Sata. You therefore needed limits to the extent with which you pushed your lucky.

Mwanawasa, in as much as he had given in to The Post schemes, had a credible education background and the extent to which he was manipulated was very limited otherwise the prevailing situation would have been worse if the likes of Kunda allowed it to take its root under Mwanawasa.

So, when Kunda appeared on one Sunday afternoon to feature on Radio Phoenix’s Sunday Interview revealing to the nation how M’membe wanted to hold hostage Rupiah in similar manner he attempted with Mwanawasa, few believed him. It was actually mistaken as victimization of a private citizen like M’membe.

Kunda went on radio and said M’membe wanted to hold Heads of State hostage and control key constitution offices such as that of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Attorney General, the Speaker of the National and the Judiciary. This he could not do under Mwanawasa. M’membe wanted total control of former DPP Chalwe Farai Mchenga after they organized the murder of Mukelebai Mukelebai. It didn’t work.

Kunda was a no nonsense as Attorney General so was former Chief Justice Ernest Sakala and former Speaker of the National Assembly Amusaa Mwanamwambwa.
So, M’membe had no power over those offices even if he was in good books with Mwanawasa.

But true to Kunda’s pronouncements, M’membe today controls the judiciary through the inept and illegal Acting Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda. And because of the incompetence of that old woman, we have a parallel judicial system one administered at the Supreme Court while the other is under the discretion of M’membe as ‘Chief Justice’, Mumba Malila as his deputy and Wynter Kabimba as the Judge in Charge, Mutembo Nchito and his brother Nchima are justices.

The Rhodes Park domiciled judiciary is more effective and powerful but unconstitutional than what Chibesakunda superintends because judgments are written elsewhere and endorsed in her office.

This is the extent to which M’membe controls all the arms of government more so that we have a dummy as head of the Executive.

And this is the problem the Zambian people are facing and will have to endure until Sata leaves office whether through the ballot or any other imminent natural occurrences.

For as long as the status quo remains, Zambia will continue with a parallel judiciary, a biased and an incredibly shame of a Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini, a disgracefully incompetent DPP, a crooked and discredited substantive Acting Chief Justice, an intelligent but embarrassingly foolish Attorney General like Malila who is only being used as a porn. It actually explains why we are at this crossroads.

With such a list of distasteful characters running key constitutional institution under the command of a private citizen wielding so much power that they pee at his sight, Zambia is breaking down at supersonic speed.

Take the judiciary for instance and the many decisions it has made since Ernest Sakala was forced out by these criminals in their cry for those useless judicial reforms and assess if the situation is better than was the previous case. It’s actually worse!

In a space of one year or so, there have been terrible decisions, extremely terrible court rulings one shudders to imagine the precedence they have set.

The Supreme Court majority ruling on the suspended judges was the epitome of the embarrassment this group of criminals has brought to the judicial system in Zambia. There is absolutely nowhere we are headed to if Sata fails to tame the cartel because before he realizes, the situation will be out of control.

The post Opinion: Zambia’s Parallel Judiciary appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Both Zambia’s ruling party and the opposition should avoid engaging in the politics of insults and violence, says the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).

In a statement released today, the non-governmental organisation expressed disappointment with Zambia’s major political players, who they say “continue to exhibit politics of insults and violence towards one another, these kinds of politics are not inspirational to the younger generation and should not be embraced by any Zambian regardless of their political affiliation.”

The plea for non-violence comes following a recent incident at a rally in Chipata by the opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), when an individual known to be a close associate of President Michael Sata, fired live rounds from a handgun, causing crowds to panic and flee. It was the second alleged shooting involving Mr. Ngoma, however the police have not made any arrests.

In the statement, YALI says that in the recent past they have “observed with great sadness the kind of insults and violence our political leaders and carders continue to perpetuate in Zambia.”

“This kind of politics unfortunately has no place in our country and the young people of Zambia and general citizenry are looking for inspirational kind leadership that will reaffirm the ideals and aspirations of the Zambia which of course are not insults and violence,” reads the statement signed by Mundia Paul Hakoola, who serves as YALI’s Executive Board Secretary. “Today the country faces a number of problems and it calls upon the government, political leaders from all political parties and stakeholders to resolve these problems with dialogue and peaceful ways of resolving problems.”

Over the past year, YALI and other civil society organisations operating in Zambia have been pressured by the state, including a letter sent by Minister of Justice Wynter Kabimba threatening to order arrests if the group convened a roundtable session to discuss the draft constitution, as well as a physical attack by a militia of PF youth cadres at a church in Matero, when civil society groups had convened to discuss the recent removal of subsidies.

YALI calls on political leaders to take leaf from the great life Nelson Mandela lead in his political life that there is greatness in humility, and that vengeance begets retribution, acrimony, hatred among many bad vices, whereas reconciliation and forgiveness yields freedom and above all love for all mankind.

The post Avoid Politics of Insults, Says YALI appeared first on Zambia Reports.

The Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) has condemned the involvement of chiefs in partisan politics saying it is in total disregard of the provisions of Article 129 of the republican Constitution.

Recently the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) admonished Paramount chief Mpezeni for openly campaign for the ruling Patriotic Front candidate Lameck Mangani in the Chipata by-elections.

FODEP executive director MacDonald Chipenzi said it is regrettable that while the courts have nullified the elections of some Members of Parliament, some of the grounds including the use of intimidating language that is likely to blackmail voters such as claiming that development can only take place if they vote for the ruling party, which is tantamount to vote buying, are being repeated.

Chipenzi said bemoaned with worry that it is becoming clear that apart from continued appeals by the ECZ for all parties to abide by the law during campaigns, even the recent decisions of the Courts have had little effect on how some political parties and their leaders are conducting themselves in the ongoing by elections on various occasions.

“It is worrying in democracy like Zambia, for government leaders to threaten to withhold development from certain constituencies if they supported or voted for other candidates than the ruling party, as seen in Kafulafuta, and Chipata Central.

“This is strange and surprising because these leaders are on record of having said that the Republican President is for all Zambians regardless of whether or not they vote for the opposition.

“FODEP is also receiving with sadness the levels of intolerance among political parties as exemplified by the recent incidents of violence in Solwezi East Constituency, at Mapunga in Mujimanzovu ward, and especially Saint Dorothy area where a United Party for National Development (UPND) member was attacked and their vehicle damaged by well known cadres and confrontation between MMD and PF cadres in Chipata Central.

“This is a clear indication that the current electoral laws, and the Code of Conduct are very weak, a situation which is leaving the ECZ in an awkward position time and again. The frequency of such incidents are also putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on the police officer who sometimes find it difficult to deal with perpetrators of such acts of impunity especially cadres if they are from the ruling party,” he said.

Chipenzi said it would be very helpful if the ECZ is seen to act by being able to penalize or disqualify political parties from an election whose members behave disorderly, in disregard of the law during campaigns, as a way of promoting integrity of the electoral process and inspiring voter confidence.

He said this is expected more than ever before going by the frequency of incidents of violent and unruly conduct in almost all the recent by elections FODEP has monitored, the cases of Livingstone, and Feira, at Kavalamanja being very fresh.

“The organization is keen to see clarification in terms of their roles and powers among and between the Police, ECZ, and Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) so that confusions and suspicions from various sections of society and stakeholders are rested and resolved once and for all.

“FODEP would also wish to appeal to the Police and ensure that police officers that are deployed to provide security are able to fulfill their duties professionally, and without taking sides especially under the guise of the Public Order Act (POA).

“However, the deployment of too many police officers for example 300 men and women in Mkushi North are against the recommendations in the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO) in the SADC Region which states: ‘the presence of security forces around polling stations may intimidate and instill fear in voters’,” Chipenzi said.

Chipenzi appealed to the electorate in the four constituencies where the by-elections are taking place to turn up en mass and vote for their preferred candidates without being haunted by the ‘electoral gifts’ and blackmails offered to them during campaigns by politicians.

He said his organization will be deploying monitors in the four constituencies, and it is hopeful that all political parties and their supporters are going to act maturely and respect the law and the ECZ.

Chipenzi has also expressed concerns at the number of pockets of violence during the campaigns for the by-elections.

He said having followed the campaigns from nominations to the close of the campaign period, the isolated pockets of confrontations in Chipata Central and Solwezi East constituencies and the scale of such incidents have not been widespread but unfortunate anyway.

“The main causes of such confrontations have been lack of appreciation by opposing parties of the principles of tolerance and co-existence during campaigns compounded by accusations and counter accusations of malpractices such as bribery and confiscation of voting documents by opposing political parties.

“FODEP’s view is that there has been improvement in the conduct of the campaigns by political stakeholders. It was gratifying that participating political parties have been preaching peace and non-confrontational based politics.

“FODEP observes with great concern however that the conduct of some political party leaders, traditional leadership and political party supporters especially considering the language and behaviour leading to the forthcoming by-elections leaves a lot to be desired as far as the provisions of the Electoral laws and the mandate of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to oversee the conduct of all players are concerned.”

The post Fodep Seek End to Chiefs in Politics appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Zambia’s Cooperating partners are concerned with the ongoing infringements on the freedom of assembly of opposition political parties and the media.

Speaking during the first Poverty Reduction Budget Support (PRBS) review meeting in Lusaka today, UK Department for International Development (DFID) Head Kelvin Quinlan who spoke on behalf of other cooperating partners underscored that an active and free opposition is an essential element of democracy.

Quinlan says cooperating partners share the concerns raised by the Human Rights Commission on the ongoing infringements of fundamental freedoms in the country.

Meanwhile the Cooperating Partners have observed that government’s unbudgeted Expenditure risks crowding out resources for programs targeted at the poor Zambians.

Quinlan observes that government decisions on poverty reduction appear to be inconsistent.

Quinlan has cited the recent Wage increases for public sector workers, whose income is already, well above the poverty line as one that has the potential to have a negative impact on tackling poverty.

He however notes that 2013 has seen some policy decisions that align well with the goal of reducing poverty.

He notes that increases in budgetary allocation for health, education and front line staff as well the removal of fuel subsidies are progressive strides to alleviating poverty.

Source: Qfm

The post Donors Highlight Human Rights Decline in Zambia appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Police today arrested United Party for National Development (UPND) deputy secretary general Kachunga Simusamba when he went to present a petition for the removal of chief justice Lombe Chibesakunda from office.

Simusamba was arrested and detained in the holding cells within Lusaka High Court premises but was later released and a charge of conduct likely to cause the breach of peace dropped.

Simusamba said he was presenting a petition to remove justice Chibesakunda from office because she is above the retirement age of 65 years.

He said even institutions such as the Law Association of Zambia do not support the appointment of justice Chibesakunda.

“We believe her conscious is not good even as she is in that office. She should step aside because there are many people below the age of 65 years that can take over and start reforming the judiciary. She does not expect citizens to have confidence to receive justice and that is why we have come to reinforce that cause,” he said.

The post Police Free UPND’s Simusamba After Chibesakunda Petition appeared first on Zambia Reports.

The Oasis Forum has vowed to continue their fight for a people driven constitution through parliament despite the legislature adjourning sine die.

Group spokesperson Father Cleopas Lungu said although parliament had adjourned sine die the Oasis Forum will still table a private members’ bill during the next sitting.

Lungu said the constitution struggle had come way too long to be given up under the Patriotic Front government that had gone cold on the matter.

“We will continue with the route of the private member’s motion although we are a little disappointed that parliament adjourned before we took this matter. But we
will carry on and present it at the next sitting,” he said.

“The issues raised are critical and are the ones Zambians have been fighting for a long time.”

The post Oasis Forum Vow to Fight for People Driven Constitution appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Patriotic Front chief propagandist Fred M’membe has acquired three huge farms on which he is expected to have ranches and enter the beef market.

The farms are spread across the country including his ‘father’s’ village in Chinsali and his childhood home where his mother resides in Mongu.

Highly placed sources have told Zambia Reports that the Post Newspapers owner has positioned himself to enter the beef industry which was the motivation to destroy the ZAMBEEF empire in order to clear the way for his interests.

M’membe, who is a peasant pork supplier, believes that he could rake a fortune from the beef industry after seeing how ZAMBEEF has grown its profile beyond the borders of Zambia.

The president’s ally, who has turned his newspaper into a PF magazine, currently runs a trucking business under The Post Courier brand and through State House was awarded a lucrative contract to transport Copper Cathodes from Chingola to Durban in South Africa and to Windhoek in Namibia.

M’membe clashed with Defence Minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba when they both eyed another huge contract at Zesco to supplied poles. M’membe was unhappy the contract was to go to GBM’s family company more so he is a competitor in the shadow PF succession battle.

Meanwhile, multi national company ZAMBEEF has banned the importation of meat products as they try to shake off the vicious slanderous campaign the company has endured in the last few weeks.

Board chairman Jacob Mwanza said the company would now only stock and supply Zambian products to counter perceptions that the company used Aromatic Aldahydes in its products a chemical said to be used to preserve human bodies.

Mwanza said the company had endured a difficult period but had opted to comply with the country’s health standards.

The company ceremonially burned K1 million’s worth of meat products that were imported to signal a new era.

Mwanza said the destroyed products only marked four percent of the company’s stakes.

The post M’membe Prepares to Enter Beef Market appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Zambia has one of the highest cervical cancer rates in the world, with 90 out of every 100,000 women contracting the preventable disease. The government is now rolling out a program to vaccinate school girls against the Human Papilloma Virus – which causes cervical cancer. The Lusaka program is being quickly hailed as an early success.

Children attending a fourth-grade class at any primary school learned the country is Africa’s largest copper producer. But none have been taught the country tops the list of nations in the world with a high rate of cancer of the cervix.

Zambia is looking to change that by immunizing girls between the ages of 9 – 11 against the Human Papilloma Virus, which is the main cause of cervical cancer. The key is to vaccinate girls before they are sexually active, since that is how HPV is transmitted.

Roll-out

Zambia began rolling out the vaccination program in May at selected primary schools around the country.

Kalingalinga Primary School in the capital Lusaka is one of them, and here about 100 pre-teen girls have so far received the HPV vaccine.

Euphrasia Mweshi Mutale is a teacher and one of the people involved in sensitizing the community about what was expected to be a sensitive subject. She said she is happy with the results so far.

“In the first place we went for sensitization meeting with parents from the community and some teachers. We were sensitized on the goodness of the HPV vaccine. The response is quite overwhelming,” she explained. “Almost 100 percent of the girls have been vaccinated.”

Mutale also attributes the initial success to the fact there have been no immediate reported side effects from the vaccine, such as a high fever or skin rash.

Hurdles

The co-director of the Cervical Cancer Prevention Program in Zambia, Dr. Mulindi Mwanahamuntu, said health authorities, working with co-operating partners, undertook to vaccinate 25,000 girls in the first phase.

“In the schools that were selected, so far we have vaccinated 96 percent of the intended target. Now that is a very good response,” Mwanahamuntu said.

But the doctor noted the program will have to overcome some pockets of hesitancy to be fully effective.

“We still have resistance; we still have people that believe in myths. Now there are groups, I do not want to stigmatize groups, but there are groups of people, for example certain churches, that try to resist this. But also, there are cultural norms. The very fact that it is given to the pre-sexual years it would indicate to others that we are permitting children therefore to go out and have sex,” Mulindi said.

Outreach

In an effort to combat misinformation, Zambian and international health officials are reaching out to communities in various ways.

U.N. physician and cancer activist Dr. Pelum-Hazeley, who hosts a regular local radio phone-in program called Celebrating Life, said she aims to educate her callers on the real benefits and potential side effects so they can make the right medical decisions for their children.

“We just have to continue educating the people because if someone has had a complication, and of course there are reasons why there are complications. It does not necessarily mean the same thing is going to happen here,” Pelum-Hazeley explained. “Because I am a cancer activist and I believe, my intention, my aim is to help the people as much as possible to be educated and my emphasis is on prevention.”

The World Health Organization ranks Zambia as having the third highest mortality rate from cervical cancer and ranks highest in Africa. It strikes down women in their prime of life and yet it is an entirely preventable disease.

That is why Dr. Pelum-Hazeley and other health activists are working hard to make sure the HPV vaccination program is a success in Zambia.

This article was published for and sourced from the Voice of America

The post Zambia Launches HPV Vaccination Program appeared first on Zambia Reports.

An NGO leader in Zimbabwe has warned Zambians to brace themselves for more military brutality and violence from Michael Sata because the Zambian leader was learning ways of brutalizing citizens from Robert Mugabe.

Pedzisai Ruhanya, the executive director of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute for Public Policy Research said in an interview that independent observers had noted with concern President Michael Sata’s close friendship with Robert Mugabe, who had been brutalizing his own people using state security agents.

He said there were growing similarities in the way Sata was brutalizing Zambians using the police and military to the way Mugabe was oppressing Zimbabweans.

Ruhanya’s comments come in the wake of continued police and military shootings of innocent and unarmed people in Zambia such as the recent killing of two people in Kampasa by the Zambia National Service a University of Zambia student who was shot by the police during a peaceful demonstration.

Said President Michael Sata was building a brutal infrastructure of violence including the police and military wings, which he plans to incorporate as wings of the ruling party.

Ruhanya said Sata was supporting evil over good in Zimbabwe because all the well meaning and rightful thinking presidents had distanced themselves from Mugabe’s regime and they had openly condemned the human rights violations, while Sata was embracing the wrong doing.

He said it had become clear for all that Sata was using the state security agents to protect his political interests, a concept that Robert Mugabe was implementing to silence his opponents and maintain his stay in power.

He said Mugabe had been using to state security apparatus to suppress the opposition while in Zambia, Michael Sata had been using the police and military to suppress opposition voices.

In Zambia, the police have been used to deny permits to opposition parties and other civil society organisations from holding public rallies and to arrest those with critical views against the government.

“Sata will not succeed in his plans because his efforts only amount to a small cough because the military will refuse to be used for his political moves,” he said.

Ruhanya said Sata and Mugabe must realize that it was wrong to use the state security to run the affairs of the state. He said the military in Zimbabwe was a wing of the ruling party, a trend that was emerging in Zambia.

He said the people of Zambia would not allow Michael Sata to continue with his brutality because they believed in democratic values since 1991.

“In the past elections, we used to see the military here in Zimbabwe in their uniforms campaigning for Mugabe and chanting symbols of the ruling party openly in public. The military has turned itself into a vigilante and militia wing of the ZANU-PF. You may soon have this in and this is our concern. When people like your president Sata start supporting Mugabe, we don’t know what they are supporting,” he said.

He said Mugabe must learn from Rupiah Banda and realise that a sitting president could lose and election and continue with life after that. Ruhanya said Mugabe must learn from the Zambian experience where there had been smooth and peaceful transitions of power.

“The problem with Sata is that the population of Zambia will not allow him to use the military and police to silence people. He wants to take the role of the military in Zambia from protecting the people to brutalizing the people, like here in Zimbabwe where the military plays a critical role n Mugabe’s political survival unlike in Zambia. Sata is getting these ideas from Mugabe but he will not succeed because the people of Zambia are vigilant,” he said.

Ruhanya said Sata would not succeed in using the police and military to suppress the people because the state security wings had never been involved in political machinations in the history of Zambia.

“Mugabe must realize that there is life after State House. The first president Kenneth Kaunda did it in 1991. The late Frederick Chiluba did it in 2001 when he stepped down after that intense debate about the third term and Rupiah also showed true leadership in 2011 when he handed over power after losing an election to Michael Sata who was an opposition leader. Even Michael Sata himself lost elections three times and he accepted. There has been peaceful transition of power in Zambia, which the Robert Mugabe regime does not want to accept” he said.

He said Mugabe lost his political virginity in March 2008 when he lost the elections but refused to step down because he had also outlived his political usefulness.

“Mugabe lost an election in which he controlled all the systems, including the structures that were organizing the elections. He lost his virginity but he refused to step down thinking this country is his own kingdom and it is unfortunate that leaders such as the Zambian president who don’t understand the political dynamics of this have continued to side with Mugabe,” he said.

Ruhanya said the people of Africa were sick and tired of old leaders such as Michael Sata and Robert Mugabe who had continued to force themselves on the people.

“Mugabe is now 90 years old and he is currently out of the country to get medical treatment so that he could come and address two or three rallies before the elections and he is almost collapsing at these meetings, but the Zambian president and Zambian government thinks that Mugabe is a very good man. The man is tired and losing his mind. Mugabe has lost his own legacy by imposing himself on the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.

He said many people in Zimbabwe were not expecting free and far elections because the Mugabe regime was manipulating the electoral system such as the voter registration exercise, which was favouring the ruling party. Ruhanya said the economy of Zimbabwe had stabilised and inflation reduced but Mugabe’s continue stay in power was disadvantaging the country because of his greediness.

“We have a relatively stable economy but unemployment is still a problem, which we have to deal with. We also need to work on the attraction of investment as well as the human rights record and transition of power. The other thing we have to deal with is partisan role of the military in the electoral process of this country because currently, it favours Mugabe and the ZANU-PF. The military favours Mugabe and it has turned itself into a vigilante wing of the ruling party and this will be the same in Zambia because of Sata’s closeness to Mugabe,” he said.

Zimbabwe goes to the presidential and partliamentary elections on July 31, 2013 and the political atmosphere has been peaceful so far. Ruhanya said the political situation leading to the elections in Zimbabwe was not violent, but the people were aware that Mugabe’s infrastructure of violence was still active because it had just been sent into hibernation and it could be unleashed at any convenient time.

“We cannot not say that there will be no violence before, during and after elections in Zimbabwe because this infrastructure of violence could be reactivated and this is why we implore upon Michael Sata to beseech his friend Mugabe, since it is only him who talks to him not to use violence on his people during this year’s elections,” he said.

The Zimbabwe Democracy Institute for Public Policy Research n involved in reviewing political, economic and other forms of public plans in Zimbabwe.

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The following is the full text of a letter sent by the editorial board Zambia Reports to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services with regard to the recent blocking of access to news websites.

Dear Sirs,

We humbly direct ourselves toward your offices at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services of the Government of Zambia to register our concern over the limited access to news website, Zambia Reports (http://zambiareports.com/), for Internet users inside Zambia.

We first observed a partial interruption of service on July 16, which in the following days worsened, creating a complete block on our IP Address (http://50.63.32.1/), denying Zambian citizens the opportunity to access the information and news that we publish on a daily basis.  This blockage occurred at the same time that another news website, Zambian Watchdog, also experienced a service interruption inside Zambia, which was detailed in an announcement by the New York-based press freedom NGO Committee to Protect Journalists (see article:  http://cpj.org/2013/07/in-zambia-harassment-of-watchdog-site-continues.php).

To date, Zambia Reports has received no information from the government explaining why access has been blocked.  From the inception of our publication in March 2012, there has been only one incident in which a member of government contacted our editorial board with a take-down request, and, although we were not legally required to remove the disputed content, we nevertheless complied and removed the disputed article in good faith.  Zambia Reports has received no other form of complaint, request, or notice of violation from any representative of the Government of Zambia, nor any other official institution.  To date, our website has never been formally accused or informed of any form of alleged libel, defamation, or any other unlawful nature of the news content published.

Given that the blocking of these IPs occurs within a challenging climate for journalism and freedom of expression, including the arrests of at least three reporters in recent weeks, some observers have suggested that the blocking of websites constitutes an act of censorship.

On February 23, 2013, the advocacy news website Global Voices (http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/23/zambia-chinese-experts-to-monitor-internet/) published a report detailing efforts by the Zambian government to work with a team from the Government of China to install a secret Internet monitoring facility with the capability to block access to websites.  The same report cited a notice from the Office of the President and the security services to mobile phone and internet service providers, obligating them to cooperate and grant access to security agents to their networks.

In light of these developments, the press freedom NGO Reporters Without Borders has provided Zambia Reports with a mirrored website (http://zambiareports.rsf.org/), which for the moment, can be accessed inside the country.  We also are willing, if necessary, to move our IP to a number of other mirrors, as well as continue publishing our content to social media networks, such as Facebook.  Our content is also syndicated with the international news organisation, AllAfrica.com, which has not yet been blocked inside Zambia.  Zambia Reports has also filed a complaint regarding the blocking of our IP to the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA).

Freedom of the press and freedom from censorship is vital to a healthy democracy.  We respectfully remind your esteemed Ministry that freedom of expression is guaranteed under Article 20 of the Zambian Constitution.  The right to freedom of expression includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference; the freedom to receive ideas and information without interference; and the freedom to impact and communicate ideas and information without interference.

The blocking of access to our website in Zambia is a violation of our right to freedom of expression.  Given that there has never been any complaint nor any notification of any violation of law, we view this online censorship as unlawful.  Our business has additionally suffered pernicious damage due to decreased advertising revenue as the result of the unexplained decision to block access, which creates budgetary and planning challenges as a result of the state’s intervention.

The Honourable Minister Sakeni has on various occasions promised to protect freedom of the press on behalf of the Patriotic Front government.  In an official Ministry statement dated March 29, 2013 (http://www.lusakatimes.com/2013/03/29/information-minister-kennedy-sakeni-releases-a-media-statement-attacking-mike-mulongoti/), it was stated that “Under the PF Government, the media, both public and private, is now free to set its own reportorial and editorial agenda without fear or favour,” emphasizing that the policy being pursued “demonstrates the PF Government’s commitment to ensure free flow and public access to information, a pre-requisite for a thriving democracy.”

The use of Chinese technology to engage in net censorship is not only unlawful under the Zambian constitution, it also deprives the Zambian people of their basic right to access diverse sources of media outside the state-controlled outlets and a single pro-government private newspaper.  Furthermore, this censorship is damaging to Zambia’s international image as a destination for foreign investment and aid.

Acknowledging that the blocking of these websites possibly was unsanctioned by the Ministry or otherwise perhaps represents some type of technical error, we humbly present before your esteemed offices three requests:

1)   Provide a detailed explanation regarding the state’s decision to block access to Zambia Reports, including instructions of the necessary steps required to resolve the issue.

2)   Organise an internal inquiry into these cases of online news censorship for presentation before the National Assembly.

3)   Immediately restore full access to Zambia Reports and any other blocked websites pending the outcome of the Ministry’s internal inquiry.

A free and vibrant press represents an essential component of a successful democracy, and the Zambian Government’s decision to reverse this ill-considered venture would be viewed as a welcome sign of its commitment to constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of expression and freedom of the press.

Sincerely,

The Editorial Board of Zambia Reports

editor@zambiareports.com

The post Zambia Requested to Stop Blocking Access to Websites appeared first on Zambia Reports.

President Rupiah Banda’s son Andrew has been arrested on latest charges of allegedly defaming President Michael Sata during a campaign meeting in Chipata.

Andrew was arrested in Lusaka today after appearing before a Lusaka Magistrate for another matter.

Zambia Reports has been informed that Andrew is detained at Woodlands Police Station and may spend a night or weekend in custody.

Andrew has been a critic of President Sata’s government but a spate of arrests of citizens that are openly criticising the Head of State is increasing.

There are close to 20 individuals that have so far been arrested for allegedly defaming President Sata.

“He was picked up by plain clothes officers after attending his court case at Lusaka Magistrate Complex today,” the report reads.

“From the look of things, he will certainly spend the night in police cells and possibly the entire weekend as Police in Lusaka have to wait for their colleagues from Chipata to get over to the capital to collect Andrew so that he is formally charged and arrested where he allegedly defamed Sata.”

Andrew has openly challenged Zambians to make sound judgements on assessing the performance of the Patriotic Front after it came to power on a wave of numerous promises but has not delivered.

The post Rupiah’s Son, Andrew, Arrested for Defamation appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Workers at the upmarket Pamodzi Hotel have gone on strike demanding a 50 percent increase across the board.

The employees who downed tools this morning said they will not accept anything less than a K2000 increase.

Speaking on behalf on the employees Irvin Mwansa said the workers were being exploited with their expatriate colleagues getting more than the locals in terms of pay and other added incentives.

“We are not going to accept anything less than a 50 percent increase and as you know the expatriates here who do the same jobs we do get a lot of money.

“I will give you an example of an auditor of Indian origin who does nothing special but takes home in excess of K26, 000,” Mwansa said.

“On top of that they get education allowances and over time.”
Management have declined to comment reportedly locked up in an emergency meeting.

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