The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today protested over threats from a prominent member of the Zambian ruling party to sack employees of the government-owned Zambia Daily Mail newspaper after they did not publish articles he wrote.

“We protest the intimidation tactics used by M. Mbita Chitala,” said Gabriel Baglo, the Director of the IFJ Africa office. “The Zambia does not need the media environment to be polluted at this painful period in its history. We call on the government, ruling party members and all political party leaders to make sure journalists can work in total freedom during the upcoming race for the successor to the late President, Levy Mwanawasa.”

On August 30, Mbita Chitala, a member of the campaign team of the ruling party’s candidate for the presidency, went to the headquarters of the Zambia Daily Mail demanding to know why stories he sent them were not published.

According to Nigel Mulenga, the acting deputy editor of the newspaper and also the Secretary General of the Zambia Union of Journalists (ZUJ), despite explanations from staff members, Chitala “warned reporters and editors that they risked being sacked because this was ‘a matter of life and death.’"  

The IFJ is supporting the ZUJ, which has said that the era of “threats is long gone and we demand an apology from him.”

The IFJ is also calling on the government and the political parties to publicly vow to respect press freedom and editorial independence for all media.

For more information contact the IFJ at +221 33 842 01 43
The IFJ represents over 600,000 members in 120 countries worldwide