Africa-Press – Zambia. THE Zambia Institute of Independent Media Alliance (ZIIMA) is appalled by the police call out issued to KBN TV, a private TV station in the Republic of Zambia, barely a day after exposing what is alleged to have been a conversation between a State House aide and a Permanent Secretary colluding to kill democracy.
The IBA Act is very clear on complaints handling procedure, and the police call out is in this case, a clear abuse of state institutions by government. ZIIMA also views this as an attempt by police to excite their paymaster using a wrong dance antic.
Riding on President Hakainde Hichilema’s media freedom pronouncements, we do hereby call for police to search their souls and withdraw that form of harassment.
Government must know that there cannot be democracy without a free media, democracy also directs us to uphold the rule of law, and the IBA Act is not an exception.
We hereby shed some light on the IBA complaints handling procedure, in case police are ignorant on this: “An aggrieved person shall write to the radio or TV station, highlighting the complaint, and time on which it was broadcast. Upon receipt, the radio or TV station shall respond to the complaint within 14 days. Where the station has not responded within 14 days, or the complainant is not content with the response, the complainant shall write to the IBA”.
Clearly this has not been done, hence our resolve that this is an act to intimidate the Media, it must be stopped! We also call on journalists and media houses across the country to be balanced, objective, verify information that comes their way and avoid serving interests of politicians as they gather and publish news. Wilson Pondamali Consultant- ZIIMA Contact: +260977351972 Email: [email protected]
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