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Legal Action
February 21
Fred M'membe, The Post, IMPRISONED
Bright Mwape, The Post, IMPRISONED
Lucy Banda Sichone, The Post, THREATENED, LEGAL ACTION
Managing director and editor in chief M'membe, managing editor Mwape, and columnist Sichone (with her three-month old infant) went into hiding on Feb. 23 to avoid imprisonment on charges of contempt of Parliament. On Feb. 21, the Zambian National Assembly had found the three journalists guilty of violating the National Assembly Powers and Privileges Act, a colonial law prohibiting nonmembers of Parliament from criticizing proclamations made by members of Parliament. The National Assembly Standing Orders Committee sentenced the three journalists to detention until they publicly apologized for breach of Parliament. In the Jan. 29 edition of The Post, M'membe, Mwape, and Sichone wrote articles commenting on the vice president's criticism, in Parliament, of a Supreme Court ruling that the clause of the Public Order Act requiring citizens to obtain police permits for demonstrations and other public gatherings is unconstitutional. On March 4, M'membe and Mwape surrendered to parliamentary authorities, explaining that they would not apologize to the Parliament. M'membe pleaded with the speaker of the National Assembly to absolve Sichone, who remains in hiding, of blame. Attorneys for The Post petitioned the Supreme Court with a writ of habeas corpus challenging the National Assembly's use of the Powers and Privileges Act to arrest and detain their clients. M'membe and Mwape were held in separate maximum security prisons for 24 days. On March 27, Supreme Court Judge Kabazo Chanda ruled that it was unreasonable to imprison M'membe and Mwape indefinitely, and ordered that they be released on bail. But Judge Chanda also ruled that M'membe's and Sichone's articles were in contempt of Parliament. Mwape was absolved of any charges of contempt. Judge Chanda advised Sichone to appear before Parliament. CPJ protested the charges and arrests in letters to President Chiluba and to Robinson Nabulyato, speaker of the National Assembly, and launched a letter-writing campaign to secure the journalists' release.
December 26
George Jambwa, Chronicle, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Army officers arrested Jambwa, a journalist for the privately owned newspaper Chronicle, for allegedly "trespassing into the army barracks." Jambwa had been attempting to verify reports that Zambia's army commander, Lt. Gen. Nobby Simbeye, was under house arrest. Rumors had linked Simbeye to an alleged coup attempt against the government of President Frederick Chiluba. Interrogators pressured Jambwa to reveal his sources. Jambwa appeared before the Lusaka Magistrate Court on Dec. 30 to answer charges of "criminal trespass" under section 306 of the Penal Code. He pleaded not guilty and was released later that day on 50,000 kwacha (US$38) bail, plus two sureties of 50,000 kwacha each. The court scheduled a trial for Jan. 21, 1997.
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