A Dark Day for Mother Zambia: Why Was the Cyber Security Law Signed in Secret?
By Thandiwe Ketis Ngoma
Today is a dark and sobering day for Mother Zambia.
We have learned, not through our own government but through a statement from the United States Ambassador to Zambia , that the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Bill has been officially signed into law. A law that will affect the lives, freedoms, and rights of every Zambian was enacted without a single word from the Presidency. No announcement. No press conference. No explanation.
This shocking lack of transparency is not only unacceptable, it is dangerous.
What makes this betrayal even more painful is the identity of the man who signed it: President Hakainde Hichilema. A man who, while in opposition, passionately condemned this very law. He called it draconian, a threat to democracy, and a tool of authoritarian control. He pledged that, if elected, he would repeal it.
Today, he has not repealed it. He has strengthened it.
This is more than a broken promise. It is a complete reversal of principle. The very law he once called an attack on Zambian freedoms is now being used by his administration, and it was done behind closed doors.
Why was the Cyber Security Law signed in secret?
What does our government have to hide?
Why were Zambians not informed by their own leaders, but instead by a foreign diplomat?
Let that sink in: Zambians were left in the dark while a foreign government was briefed about a law that will directly impact our democracy.
This is not how democracy works. Laws that affect every citizen’s right to privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information must be debated openly, not slipped into existence under a veil of secrecy. The process alone is an insult to the people. It is a deliberate evasion of scrutiny, criticism, and accountability.
And this law is not harmless. It grants sweeping powers to law enforcement agencies to monitor online activity, intercept private communications, seize devices, and criminalize dissent under vague charges like “false information” or “cyber harassment.” These are the very dangers Hichilema warned us about — and now, he presides over them.
Mother Zambia deserves better.
The Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act has been condemned by civil society groups, legal experts, journalists, and human rights defenders. It is seen, rightly, as a tool for repression, not protection. Its vague provisions and unchecked powers are ripe for abuse.
Yet the government did not just ignore those warnings. It hid the law’s signing from the public. The silence says it all: they knew the backlash would come, so they chose secrecy over truth.
Today, trust in our democratic institutions has been shaken. The people have been sidelined. The process has been corrupted. Our rights have been compromised, not only by the content of the law, but by the betrayal of those we trusted to protect our freedoms.
If President Hichilema once believed this law was dangerous, why has he chosen to enforce it now?
What changed — the law or his priorities?
We must demand answers. We must hold our leaders accountable, not just for what they say in opposition, but for what they do in power. If laws can be signed in secret today, what will stop the erosion of our freedoms tomorrow?
Zambia does not belong to politicians. It belongs to its people.
And the people must rise to defend their democracy, especially when the darkness sets in.
Let this be a moment of awakening, not surrender. Let our silence never be mistaken for consent.