Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. Zambia
  • News

Seven journalists arrested

    JOHANNESBURG

    Zambian police on Wednesday arrested seven journalists from the ‘Post’ newspaper in pre-dawn raids on their homes following a front-page article on Tuesday about the country’s military capacity.

    Media sources in Lusaka told IRIN that the arrests followed debate in the national assembly on Tuesday during which the Deputy Speaker ordered the Defence Minister to take “appropriate” action against the newspaper for what he called an “unpatriotic” article that laid “bare the country’s military capacity”.

    The article was based on interviews with senior military officers who expressed serious reservations about Zambia’s ability to defend itself against Angola, which has accused its neighbour of gun-running on behalf of the rebel UNITA movement. The officers reportedly divulged details of Zambia’s weapons inventory, which the ‘Post’ published.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join