Zambia: Hooligans seize recorders from media houses

On 25 October 2009 recorders from various media houses were confiscated by organized hooligans during the Newsmakers’ Forum that took place at Lusaka Play House which had featured George Mpombo a former Defence Minister.

In a phone interview, Journalist Evans Sinjela told MISA-Zambia that he and other journalists were traumatized by the violent scenario at which hooligans disrupted the News Makers’ Forum organized by the Press Freedom Committee (PFC) of The Post Newspapers Limited that featured a controversial ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) member George Mpombo.

Sinjela told MISA-Zambia that the hooligans threw tables around and grabbed recorders from the high table and destroyed the public address system and charged against Mpombo and harassed PFC Secretary General Sheik Chifuwe.

Beside this story, journalists lost a number of other stories in the process.

MISA-Zambia Chairperson Henry Kabwe condemned the action by the hooligans and called for adequate protection of freedom of expression and the media.

“The seizing of the recorders by the unlawful group of people masquerading as supporters of a named party, a day after independence day is very disturbing.”  Kabwe said.

The incident is the second event at which journalists have had to flee from the place of the event for fear of their lives. The first one transpired when Robbie Chizyuka, a Member of Parliament for opposition United Party for National Development (UNDP) was addressing a press conference at ZAMCOM Lodge in Lusaka just a few weeks ago.

Mpombo, a former Defence Minister who resigned in July this year from his position has been making statements that have impacted on the image of his party the MMD.

October 26, 2009 by MISA Alerts

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Source: www.misa.org/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi (accessed on 27.10.2009)