WHY CYBER SECURITY AND CYBER CRIMES LAW WILL BE DANGEROUS TO ZAMBIANS.
It is interesting how some institutions like IBA are supporting such a draconian law in this modern world that aimed at gagging and violating not only people’s freedoms and rights but the Constitution too.
Such institutions like IBA surprisingly have not supported the enactment of the access to information neither have they condemned its shelving for close to 20 years and yet this is key to growth of vibrant and plural media industry in Zambia including the fight against fake news and misinformation.
Limited circulation of authentic information is what has caused the growth of fake news and misinformation in the country and does not need the cyber security and crimes law but access to information law instead.
Sometimes, I wonder how Zambians get cheated, hoodwinked and blindfolded by the politicians in government and how institutions of governance got into muzungu anikonde vuvuzela mode and start supporting such evil intentions.
The cyber security and crimes Bill No. 2 of 2021 intends to expand the surveillance services by the state on citizens through intercepting, monitoring, seizing, searching and investigating their phones and computers with or without search warrants and court orders and at anytime and place as long as the law enforcement agencies such as cyber inspectors reasonably suspect that cyber crimes are being committed.
Bill 2 further violates the supreme law of the land by its intentions to invade citizens’ rights to privacy (Art 17), violate their freedom to information, expression and opinion and communication and the freedom of the press (Art 20), protection from deprivation of one’s property (Art 16) which includes computers, phones etal and the right to remain silent and share incriminating information (Art 18(7) when confronted by law enforcement agencies among others.
Citizens’ conversations, communication and correspondences are earmarked to be under constant monitoring, surveillance, interception and investigation by the state, its agents and the electronic communications service providers.
Bill 2 criminalises the right to remain silent when confronted and requested by the cyber inspectors and refuse to give evidence or information to them.
Possession of obscene materials, for instance in your phone or computer, even if they have just been circulated unsolicited, say by one of your whatsApp group member, is an offence that can lead you into jail for a minimum of period of 2 years.
The sanctions are so punitive and range from 2years imprisonment to life imprisonment and from K60, 000 in terms of fine to K600, 000 or to both.
Bill 2 has potential to congest the prisons in a short period of time and undermine the noble fight for the decongested prisons and the crusade embarked on by the President through the numerous pardons of prisoners.
In others, Bill 2 has nothing to do with cyber security, bullying and abuses but incriminating citizens and treating them as potential criminals who deserve to be jailed.
Though the capacity by the state to implement such a law once passed may not be there to meet the wide range of sanctions in the proposed Bill 2 against citizens, the fact that it is being rushed, the few politicians being targeted ahead of the elections will be netted.
However, the beauty is that those sponsoring this Bill 2 in the name of being a minister of cite cite will not be ministers in the next two months and surveillance, interception and investigation the state will most likely going to catch up with them as police and other law enforcement agencies will be free to intercept and monitor any communication, conversations and correspondences even from Given Lubinda and Kafwaya, the sponsors who will then be called former minister of cite cite.
Soon we will be welcoming them to the commoners’ common room and if this law is bad, let them dance pelete too with us.
Otherwise this law will undermine the fight against corruption, the safety of whistleblowers and existence and growth of investigative journalism in Zambia.
It is just one of the bad laws ever mooted in Zambia.
I submit
Chipenzi