ZIIMA concerned with PF dragging The Media into their desperation
ZIIMA Jajah Coulibaly concerned with PF dragging The Media into their desperation
ZIIMA Jajah Coulibaly concerned with PF dragging The Media into their desperation
By Jajah Coulibaly
President Contact: +260978718044/ +260975094700
Email:ziimafreepress@gmail.com
Sunday, 8th August 2021
WE have observed with much regret the reported cloning of one of Zambia’s leading privately owned newspapers, THE MAST, by suspected PF agents to suit their appetite for toxic hate speech.
The said publication under headline, HH IS A SATANIST, has potential to draw the media house into unnecessary conflict with the UPND and the party President Mr. Hakainde Hichilema in person.
We realise that most politicians from the PF have no agenda and message in this campaign, they have tried to muzzle the media and now they have started cloning newspapers. They did this to News Diggers within this year and circulated it online. And now they have moved to The Mast. We wonder which private newspaper they will target next. This is absurdity that deserves strong reprimand.
Even with a disclaimer from THE MAST Newspaper, some known PF surrogates have continued to circulate the illegality on social media platforms. The worst is that they even went to the extent of printing the same cloned publication in hard copy which they distributed in selected parts of Lusaka and the Copperbelt. We agree with THE MAST that the charlatans must clone their own publications. It’s indeed a shame that the ruling party can go to such levels after sensing an impending heavy defeat in elections. We expect the police to investigate the people doing this and arrest them without delay.
On the other hand, we wish to condemn the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for their biased accreditation of media houses to the results centre. As a referee in this election, ECZ should have accredited journalists from all media institutions. It is worrying for the ECZ to play politics with the media as if they are a political party. We know that they are under pressure from PF, but such illegal acts give credence to claims that they have a scheme to bar objective media houses and journalists from the results centre, specifically to manipulate the flow of accurate information.
We fail to understand how mainstream media can be denied accreditation in preference to PF propagandist blogs! Such as Smart Eagles, This act will complicate the standing of the ECZ after the elections. We therefore implore the electoral body to reconsider their position and accredit all those media institutions they denied accreditation.
We call on local and international election observers to carefully take into account the current evil schemes being advanced by the ruling party and the elections body as such actions have the potential to affect or disadvantage the ordinary Zambian during this election period.
