ACKSON Sejani says it will be naive for anybody including MISA Zambia to sit down with President Edgar Lungu and talk about press freedom.
Sejani argues that the day, for instance, Bowman Lusambo became civil and started respecting people and their human rights he will be sacked by President lungu.
“He will be sacked because he will no longer be doing what pleases the appointing authority as per the brief. That is why I laugh at people who say that the President is himself a good man but surrounded by bad people,” he explained.
Sejani said it would be more tragic to even believe a single word coming from President Lungu about how he respects press freedom and how he intends to create a conducive environment for a free press to thrive.
“To the wise, his actions speak louder than his words,” Sejani said.
Last Thursday when he met Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambian Chapter staff at State House, President Lungu claimed that he did not support harassment of journalists.
“We support the media, and as we go to the 2021 general elections, we will stand by you. We will ensure that our supporters are sensitised not to hinder the operations of the media. Politicians and the police need you. We would like to give the media the best environment so that they can report truthfully what they regard as newsworthy,” President Lungu said, according to a statement issued by press aide Isaac Chipampe. “What happened in these provinces (Muchinga and Northern where PF cadres invaded radio stations recently) was unfortunate. Violence against journalists is a concern to government and these acts should not be justified whether they are happening in our strongholds or not. As government we will not protect anyone breaking the law. Law breakers ought to be dealt with by law enforcers regardless of their affiliation. When crime has been committed law has to take its course.”
Reacting to the President, Sejani said the assault on free press was being spearheaded by presidential appointees in the shape of ministers, permanent secretaries and that even district commissioners had joined the fray.
“These appointees serve at the pleasure of the President. If the President is not pleased with what they are doing he will fire them. So when you see the likes of Bowman Lusambo, Dora Siliya and others harassing the media, they are doing so at the pleasure of the appointing authority,” he said. “They are following the brief they were given by the appointing authority. The moment they depart from this brief they will be sacked. If, for example, Mr Lusambo became civil and started respecting people and their human rights he will be sacked by Mr lungu. He will be sacked because he will no longer be doing what pleases the appointing authority as per the brief. That is why I laugh at people who say that the President is himself a good man but surrounded by bad people. This is a foolish argument to make! The President freely chose his team without anyone twisting his arms. As for Mr Lungu he even brought back some characters that were discarded by Mr Sata. He brought back proven wrong doers. How can anyone, therefore, today claim that the President is a good man surrounded by bad people. If the appointees are bad people doing bad things but are kept in their positions by the appointing authority, it means only one thing that the appointing authority is worse. Given what I have said it will be naive for anybody, including MISA Zambia, to sit down with Mr Lungu and talk about press freedom.”
Sejani, who served as local government minister in the Frederick Chiluba administration, said a government that literally urinates in the mouths of journalists to stop them from speaking freely cannot claim to respect press freedom.
“The unfortunate journalist who experienced this strange way of honouring press freedom in Chipata will agree with me. A government that holds the continental record for most harassment and closures of media houses cannot claim to respect press freedom,” he stressed. “Give me a dictator, even the most vicious, in Africa who has harassed more media houses than Mr Lungu. The Post newspaper and Prime TV can attest to this. Under Mr Lungu Muvi TV and many radio stations have had their experiences at the hands of this great champion of press freedom. It is only in Zambia where an opposition leader is forced to escape through the roof of a radio station to escape lynching from an intolerant regime.”
Sejani noted that recently the nation witnessed frightening levels of intolerance where radio stations were attacked for hosting a voice of an opposition leader.
“Strangely in all these incidents not a single person has been brought to book. Feeble statements are produced from time to time by some government officials to give an impression that someone is concerned when in fact not. It’s all just to make citizens believe so,” said Sejani. “A government that consciously sits down to draw a strategic plan for purposes of gagging the press cannot claim to respect press freedom. Under its four-year strategic plan, the PF is setting up a media intelligence centre to be fully equipped and supported with permanent bloggers, hackers, reporters and others. The purpose of this centre is to dominate media space and control all air waves in Zambia. The actions of all these PF operatives are not therefore isolated incidents of indiscipline by them but they are actions informed by this well scripted action plan.”