. Kampamba

By JAMES KUNDA –
THE Government has directed law-enforcement agencies to bring to book the people behind the assault of journalists in Lusaka’s Chawama Township at the weekend.
On Saturday, four ZNBC and Muvi Television journalists were beaten up and had their cameras damaged by some residents in the township.
The incident happened as the journalists filmed an operation by the Zambia Police, Zambia Medical Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to clamp down on illegal drug stores in the area.
Officers from DEC, ZAMRA and the Police were also reportedly assaulted.
Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Kampamba Mulenga said the Government had learnt with regret, and strongly condemned the reported violence against the journalists.
“This type of hooliganism and barbarism cannot be condoned in a democratic society like ours,” Ms Mulenga said.
“Government, therefore, calls upon all law-enforcement agencies to ensure that they leave no stone unturned and bring all culprits behind these barbaric acts to book.”
Ms Mulenga, who is chief Government spokesperson, reiterated the Government’s commitment to upholding the rights of journalists, saying the Patriotic Front administration would not sit idle and allow the perpetrators of crimes against the media go unpunished.
She reminded the public that journalists must be allowed to do their work without fear as they had a responsibility to feed their audiences with objective reports.