By Sishuwa Sishuwa
On 9 April 2020, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), Zambia’s broadcasting regulator, cancelled the broadcasting licence of Prime TV, the country’s most popular and leading independent television station, established eight years ago. In a letter to Prime TV Executive Director Gerald Shawa, IBA Board Secretary and Director General, Josephine Mapoma, stated that the action has been taken in the ‘public interest’ and pursuant to Section 29 (1) (j) and (k) of the IBA (Amendment) Act of 2010. This Section, Mapoma wrote, “provides that the Board may cancel a broadcasting licence if ‘the cancellation of the licence is necessary in the interest of public safety, security, peace, welfare, or good order’”, or if “the Board considers it appropriate in the circumstances of the case to do so”.
She advised Shawa, if he was aggrieved with the decision of the Board, to appeal to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services for redress, as per the provisions of the Act.
What do we make of this move by the supposedly Independent Broadcasting Authority?
The first point to note about the cancellation of Prime TV’s broadcasting licence is that it is illegal. This is because the decision of the Board did not comply with a mandatory provision of the very section that the IBA Board cited to explain their action. While the quoted Section 29 (1) (j) and (k) of the IBA (Amendment) Act of 2010 empowers the IBA Board to cancel a broadcasting licence, Section 29 (7) of the same IBA (Amendment) Act of 2010 provides that “The Board shall, before cancelling or suspending a broadcasting licence under this section, give the broadcasting licensee an opportunity to be heard”.
The hearing safeguard provided in this provision is important for, among other reasons, enabling the IBA to draw specific charges against the licensee (otherwise how does one defend themselves without written charges?), determining what constitutes, for instance, ‘public interest’, establishing the facts behind the alleged conduct of the station that amount to the violation of public interest, and deciding whether those facts were so grave that they warranted cancellation of the station’s licence. By cancelling the licence of Prime TV without according the station, or its representatives, the opportunity to be heard, the Board disregarded an express provision of the law. As a result, the actions of the IBA are illegal, as the body does not have the legal power to close down a TV station in this manner.
Were the station to appeal against the cancellation, any level-headed Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services would swiftly overturn the IBA’s decision and sack all the Board members who supported it for testing positive to the more lethal ignorance virus disease – IGVID20. Of course, this then raises the question of whether Prime TV will be lucky enough to find a level-headed Minister of Information when their appeal is finally heard. Few people would be willing to accuse Dora Siliya, the current occupant of the office, of possessing an independent judgement – independent in particular from the desires of the appointing authority.
The other problem is that while Section 31 (1) of the IBA (Amendment) Act of 2010 stipulates that “A person who is aggrieved with a decision of the Board under this Part may appeal to the Minister within thirty days” – after which they may appeal to the High Court if left unsatisfied – it does not provide for a specific timeframe within which the Minister must decide the matter. This is an institutional loophole that the Minister may take advantage of to unduly delay deciding the case, one that should be rectified urgently because it potentially undermines the efficient administration of justice and enables a minister who is susceptible to external influence to hide behind its ambiguity.
The second point is that the cancellation of Prime TV’s broadcasting licence is a political decision and part of President Edgar Lungu’s wider strategy for the 2021 election. Those who are calling on the IBA to reverse the illegal action it has taken against Prime TV are missing one crucial point that is likely to render their appeals futile: the prime mover of the decision is almost certainly the President of Zambia. By closing the country’s leading independent television station, Lungu may be seeking to remove one more hurdle in his strategic step-by-step march to retaining power and extending his rule.
Over the last few years, Prime TV, competing against 41 other officially licensed television stations in Zambia, has emerged to become the channel of choice in most Zambian households. It has provided an important platform for the expression of a plurality of views and the discussion of issues that matter most to the public. These include the performance of the Patriotic Front (PF) in power, the viability of opposition political parties, the implications of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 10 of 2019, and the question of whether Lungu is eligible to stand for another term of office.
The station has also regularly televised paid-for rallies of opposition parties that are denied access to the state-run Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation. Furthermore, Prime TV, sometimes in conjunction with other institutions, has organised and broadcast a series of public discussions that have raised public awareness and understanding on different subjects of mutual interest. Such was Prime TV’s influence and rising appeal that even ministers and ruling party officials regularly abandoned the public media and queued to appear on this private television station, seeking to tap into its distinct viewership. Of particular concern to the PF is that the channel, available on the decoders of DStv, Top Star and GOtv, is most popular in the urban centres of Lusaka and Copperbelt, where the party’s support has become shaky.
Worried that the disenchantment arising from an informed public may damage his re-election prospects and work against the governing party, President Lungu may have exerted pressure on the IBA to shut down Prime TV in order to strike a serious blow to the electoral chances of opposition parties by removing the most effective platform that enabled them to connect their agenda for political change with the concerns or demands of the electorate.
If democracy is about the competition of ideas, politics is about the struggle for power – social and economic. This struggle cannot be waged without the media. Lungu knows this, and he is crudely making impotent his opponents by demolishing their access to this tool. Incidentally, by eliminating the possibilities the media offers for non-violent competition for power, Lungu is priming the country for civil war – the only other means for struggling for power.
By closing Prime TV sixteen months ahead of Zambia’s next election, Lungu and the PF are also seeking to deceive many into thinking that the decision is totally unconnected to the 12 August 2021 election, when, in fact, it is the underlying motivation. It is worth noting that when Lungu and the PF, in another move that was meant to boost their re-election chances, closed The Post newspaper on 21 June 2016, only about six weeks had remained before that year’s election. Despite great attempts by the government to present the action as a result of the failure by Zambia’s then leading independent newspaper to settle a disputed tax debt, it was quite obvious to many that the decision was linked to the election and was difficult to explain for any other reason. Lungu appears to have learnt from that experience by closing yet another critical media organisation much earlier this time around.
As well as seeking to conceal the obvious link to next year’s election, notwithstanding the fact that it is the primary motivation behind the move, he has decided to take an early decision in order to leave sufficient time to exhaust possible legal challenges against the cancellation of Prime TV’s broadcasting licence. In 2016, Lungu took a gamble in closing The Post based on the expectation that the newspaper would not have enough time to exhaust the legal processes before it could be allowed to resume operations. This time, with the executive’s capture of key state institutions, Lungu and the PF may have the confidence that the courts are on their side and that the final judgement has probably already been written in their favour.
It is this perceived inability of the judiciary to salvage its independence from the executive that may explain why the IBA Board decided to overlook the procedure laid down in the Act for the cancellation of a broadcasting licence. Here, we see another point: the increasing deployment of lawfare to undermine democracy. Lawfare, in this case, refers to the strategic use of the law and legal institutions by actors in the executive to achieve political goals, obscure their authoritarian tendencies and enhance their grip on power. By using the IBA to remove a significant hurdle in his bid for absolute power, Lungu could be attempting to wrong-foot his critics by arguing that the closure of Prime TV was a legal decision, even if the directive may have come from him and the motivation was entirely political.
The third point to be made about the closure of Prime TV is that it demonstrates the increasing authoritarian and extra-constitutional exercise of state power in the interests of the ruling cabal. Moments after the IBA Board announced the cancellation of the station’s broadcasting licence, about 15 to 20 heavily armed police officers moved to seal off the premises of Prime TV and chased away all the workers. This action was as lawless as it was reckless and represented the highest expression of state-sanctioned impunity.
Section 29 (5) of the IBA (Amendment) Act of 2010 stipulates that “Where a broadcasting licence is cancelled under this section, the broadcasting licence shall be void and shall be surrendered to the Authority”. This means that the only thing that belonged to the government on Prime TV premises was the broadcasting licence. Even if the cancellation of Prime TV’s licence was legal, the government, based on the cancellation of a broadcasting licence alone, has absolutely no right to take over private property.
As a matter of fact, the occupation of Prime Television premises by police officers is a violation of the right to privacy of property protected by Article 17 of the Constitution of Zambia, which states that “Except with his own consent, a person shall not be subjected to the search of his person or his property or entry by others in his premises.” In other words, every person is protected from violation of their right to privacy through entry by others in their premises without their consent. The police had neither consent nor licence to enter the premises of Prime Television. In the absence of a licence issued under a written law or an order issued by court of law, their action was both unjustified and unconstitutional.
Here, we see that the PF does what the PF wants. Not even the law, including the Constitution of Zambia, can stop them. Their ultimate goal is to create a fear-driven society where no public criticism of the government and president is possible. Freedom of speech will not be directly outlawed but there will soon be no media outlets willing to print or broadcast any critical views. As the country heads towards the 2021 election, Zambians should not be surprised to wake up one day and learn that the government, for one manufactured reason or another, has closed the remaining critical newspapers such as News Diggers or The Mast. The struggle on the mass front – mass consciousness against oppression and the possibility to rise against them – is what Lungu and the PF are preventing by shutting down the independent media.
How bad do things have to get in Zambia before we stand up to Lungu and the PF, and say ‘enough and no more’? Yesterday, it was The Post and then John Sangwa. Today, it is Prime TV. Tomorrow it will be YOU. We commit the greatest crime as we consent to the status quo by remaining silent and doing nothing in the face of serious democratic backslides, injustice, abuse, corruption, and glaring inequality. This is our challenge: we Zambians are complicit in our brutalisation because we choose to be spectators in our own torture at the hands of Lungu and the PF. We have a responsibility to stop Zambia’s slide into authoritarian rule and prevent our descent into a darkness we may never recover from. Time is running out, fast.
I totally agree with you sir. no one must be above the law. Surely , even the IBA act is flawed in that the PS is a member of IBA. The Minister and PS are same cohorts and can not undermine each other on a dispute involving themselves.. Arrogance of Mr shawa is not an offence. To refuse to air covid 19 adverts for free is not an offence.
Edgar and PF know that their time is up, it’s unfortunate that he wants to cause so much damage on his way out. I’d like to remind him about his days at Klub Mulamu & Komesa, that’s how ordinary he’s in case he thinks he’s a super human being. At the rate he’s going he’ll also leave State House crying
LAZ, now this upnd cadre is calling the move illegal. It clearly shows where this motion is coming from. It is a upnd stance as their platform for hate speech, lies and propaganda has been shut. Bola yakosa, so it’s Courts again where upnd has a poor record since 2016 petishoni. Sishungwa talks of the reducing PF popularity, but reality on the ground like last week’s Nangula by-elections in upnd stronghold tells a different picture.
Truth is hh has been let down by such calibre of losers like Sishungwa who advised him on wrong strategies that haven’t worked. Instead of building a strong team and manifesto with alternative policies to PF, they concentrated on regime change by slander, hate, tribalism. With PF GRZ winning the covid-19 fight, the IMF spearheading the deferment of debt-2021 is a looking very real prospect for PF and very gloomy for hh!!!
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
HH and Gerard Shawa are practicing this mantra, some of your cousins and brothers are employed courtesy of these guys, they are paying more taxes to the Treasury and doing a lot of social responsiblity programmed, now show me what those who have closed prime TV have contributed to the country apart from been paid salaries from the treasury( tax payers money)? Some even have the tendency of jumping from ruling party to ruling party because they can’t survive and do their own business. Their survival is solely dependent on salaries fromtax payers money even after acquiring degrees and masters in media studies, they have failed to put up even a simple community radio station.
Appealing to the minister whom he publicly humiliated, how fair is this?
This is another exercise in futility, the writer seems to live in a virtual world and not in Zambia. Firstly he pretends not to know the events that led to the cancellation of his favorite TV broadcast and does not even refer to any breach or behavior of his colleague in the name of Gerald Shawa. Any way that is the beauty of democracy. The article writer goes to town writing about procedures as if completely oblivious to the circumstances under question.
PF you will win fighting covid 19 with support from well wishers.but you will not win with IMF debt is too much. Until upnd will find those kaloba to pay back
Who threatened Josephine Mapoma?
All these things happening in Lusaka, like Lusambo and his gangsters beating people etc all city sounds like Tripoli.
The writer should have warned prime tv long before this and I think he had an opportunity to do so. Shawa was not advised on or never learn media ethics. You can not run your own business and carry other people’s agenda. That’s the case with Shawa. He is regretting now I guess.
its like appearing to govt against the govt, madad siliya dont entertaing this, its withing your powers to act on the appeal even after 4 years coz time flame is not stipurated, shawa forgot that anything that hichilema touches dies a natural death, let sangwa how opened his mouth loudly on this prim tv assist ba shawa, ooh he his not also allowed to enter our courts. But hichilema you are the destroyer just like this sishuwa
You chaps making noise unnecessarily please read here:
***links not permitted***
@ Chendabushiku. Surely, even if Gerald Shawa and Prime TV have “breached” the law, it is incumbent upon the IBA to follow the dictates of that same law in cancelling their licence. Otherwise, what wud stop a properly function court to declare the decision null and void on a technicality? And why have the police occuppied the private premises of Prime TV?
Sishuwa you are right on point. I think there has been a miseducation of the public as to what constitutes “democratic government,” hence any fail to see through PF politricks. Until we are all on the same page on this definition, our dear man in state house will continue treating the nation like his own farm. I am not familiar with the details of the crimes committed by prime tv but one thing I know is without a free and independent media, then the whole democratic project is null because democracy can only work where there is free and fluid flaw of information in society regardless of who gets offended in the process.
S2 this is a very balanced
This is the voice of the people.
Sishuwa,
Can you refer to any article which you wrote to appreciated your govt?.
You are not democratic because you do not tolerate any action by govt. In short you benefit from critising govt.
Fred Mmembe and Steve Nyirenda are political party Presidents today after pretending to be journalists. Shawa is also part of the UPND strategy to change govt. Their reporting caused burning people and killing fellow Zambians during the recent gassing . I never read your article anywhere critisizing your favourite Prime TV .Shawa was thefore a political opponent and has reaped what he had sown. Journalism is not for the unethical. Good strategy PF. Lets take break from cheap television politics where press confrerences are daily called to slander people. Lets concentrate on other things. Shawa…
If regimes that were in power for 30 plus years had the same strategy and it failed, am wondering how it will work for you, the case in point the Arab spring, the leaders had all the traditional media under them, but the simple tech such as social media became the people’s source of info, remember social is all about simple texting of messages which can be faster than traditional media, Like TV and radio. Would you imagine since prime TV closure have not watched any local TV station for news, prime TV news was my choice then I would tune to other channels to balance the news, right now am only following news through social media forums.
Good article Sishuwa! But Mr. Shawa must have behaved like an adult. He provided the armo. In his self distraction path. He’s response on that self destruction day. Would have been. “Hon Minister! We hear there’s a budgetary allocation for disseminating covid – 19 messages. Us media houses are therefore appealing for assistance. That Govt meets the budget halfway to enable us participate in the dissemination programs” otherwise we’ll fail to do so without funds. That’s diplomacy & maturity as an adult. Uzamusiba Yesu!
Couldn’t agree with you more on this. I wrote the exact same thing few days ago on Harry Kalaba’s article “The Closure of Prime TV, its the only TV station which got to the community“.
Your last paragraph is perhaps the most important part of your article where you appeal to sleepy Zambians to wake up from their slumber. You have to have stones in your head not to see the motivation by Lungu to close Prime TV.
Man we had gallant men and women who stood up to Kaunda’s dictat0rship government in 1990/91. Are they all de@d? This generation of Zambians are just too sleepy and c0wardly for me it is quite dangerous! Lungu the d!ctator is really getting his way far too easily.
Yes, they hv cancelled the broadcasting licence. But wht right to they hv to occupy the premises as well?
Prime tv together with Sisuwa and UPND have kissed the hottest soup. Self infringed pain. Prime tv should have avoided this to happen but they became too powerful for nothing. Now Shawa has to appeal to the same minister he embarrassed publicly. Its laughable.
Prime tv did not hv a policy of not covering anyone. ZNBC hasa policy of not covering the opposition and yet it collects licence fees from everyone. Hw are they not embarrassed by this doublestandard?
He must serve third term behind bars.
Do not take people for garbage otherwise one day you will reap what you sow.
You are illegal in power then want to extend your illegitimate.
Zambia is slowly turning in a Dictatorship, what I can not reconcile is the humble looking man our President is and the actions he takes on his perceived enemies; looks can surely be deceiving. Dora Siliya is lucky becayuse when UPND win elections in 2021 she will switch camp and be made Minister of Foreign Affairs in a UPND government.
Sishupu or whatever you call yourself. What has president Lungu got to do with the decision of an independent authority like IBA? When pf win election it’s because a useless non entity like prime has been closed. Its because of my hardwork on the ground and the government’s successful development programmes. Do not be a prick. Politicising everything shows how pathetic you are.
Meant to say is it because a useless non entity like prime is closed ?
I am definitely voting this year, cant stand this lubbish any more
My calendar for voting is for this year, I am voting
Hard work on the ground beating up people intimidating getting drunk and rigging elections is what you call hard work count your days 2021 is here.
I want to go out of topic a bit after demanding for the reopening of Prime TV we Zambians should also demand for the complete overhaul and restructuring of the ECZ because the ECZ does not represent the interest of the country but that of their masters who appointed them those people at ECZ are PF cadres opposition parties wake up stop sleeping too much that’s why Kaizer Zulu is boasting too much because you are sleeping too much.
You are watching people are preparing to steal and rig the election in your eyes you are just watching and sleeping you will keep on losing if that is your approach try to be radical and united.
PF = Pama Fi.
“We have a responsibility to stop Zambia’s slide into authoritarian rule and prevent our descent into a darkness we may never recover from. ” So true. In 2021 vote like your life and that of your children depended on it – because it does. It may be the last chance you have.
@Nemwine i agree with you Prime TV did not have a mandate to cover all the adverts for the covid 19 but ZNBC had the mandate to do so because it gets licence fees from everyone stations like ENCA are being supported by their governments different ministries are paying for their adverts but our own government wants it free because there is no money all the money is gone in their pockets.
Prime TV was going to air some adverts free but not all as demanded by the PF government PF does not like to support local companies only Chinese because they will have a cut there.
Prime TV was a private business which needed the support of government not the opposite and it pays tax to government the only thing is that these guys have eaten everything in their ministries no cash only cash for…
only cash for by-elections
IBA is a very slow organisation which must be disbanded. Prime TV should have been closed the day they stage managed the “The Sesheke Wars” movie staring HH. That thriller was horrible. Or is that what constitutes freedom of expression. I am certain LAZ, my friend Sishuwa never saw that.
Incoming president Dr Sishuwa, so then next victim is Lusaka Times.
Lungu has done nothing to deserve another term in office. His failure is written everywhere.
Should the matter go as far as the High Court, let’s organize ourselves as concerned citizens and help out with the Legal fees, with contributions to be channeled through the Legal firm to be retained by PRIME TV we are ready to contribute as Zambians to help Prime TV.
PF u will be in opposition sooner than u think as well then will u nash ur teeth becoz those that would v spoken for you u killed you v removed the ladders on ur way up you will need them on ur way down
@Sichalwe your contributions have given me hope. Sishuwa thank you as ever. Sichalwe we really need to organize ourselves and raise money to support Shawa et al. If 20,000 concerned Zambians each donated a paltry sum of K15 each, we could use K150,000 to contribute towards Shawa’s legal fees, K120,000 to feed the workers at Prime Tv through this period and K30,000 for unforseen imponderables in the interim. Who is ready to ramble?
Prime TV we bounce back by the people’s power.
Prime TV will bounce back by the people’s power.
In fact Prime tv’s lawyers can get a court order to remove the police from the premises as other matters go through the appeal process. Wht IBA has done has already taken effect and there ‘s no broadcadting by the station. Wht are the police doing on the premises then?
Frightened little men. They will fall with a big thud. But even without Prime TV, who in his normal being can go and cast a vote for them. Refer to the UNZARALU guidance. The country is on its knees, reckless borrowing and struggling to pay back, exchange rate is running opposite direction to them, inflation is setting an unprecedent national record, fuel and mealie meal prices are nowhere were the MMD left them, respected raters have said the Zambian kwacha is the second worst performing currency in the world, and the mines are going. Lawless is the order of the day where an ignorant minister can order people of what quantities of mealie meal to buy in Shoprite and whip them in bars for defying directives. This was a promising country until they arrived on the scene. God, Almighty,…
I cannot believe Sishuwa wrote this coz it’s full of bollocks. Lungu is not eligible in 2021 so how does closing prime tv benefit him?
The article actually pointed to the unlawful action. What those always rushing to criticize the article ought to be doing is to also quote the law supporting whatever they are saying. For example, the quoted article states IBA should have given them reasons and a notice and only after failing to show cause why the government shouldn’t revoke the license could this action been taken.
Also, without a court order, the police didn’t have the right to chase people.
Start a fund and we shall Suport it. We are a democracy and we need to be seen to be practicing what we stated in our constitution.
After closure of Prime TV, I watched the PF channel last night called ZNBC, its a complete disgrace, its all PF news, then a ZRA advert comes and it says DAIL#858# instead of the correct spelling of DIAL, to them dial and dail are the same things, ZNBC cant even proof their customers adverts because they have to maintain the political line up in the news, President, Vice Presidents, Bowman, Mwakalombe. I am not tuning to ZNBC tonight, all my extra views will be on foreign channels. No charge to Prime TV, just closing it like that, What public interest? Stone age tactics
If PF think that Zambians can be taken for a ride. They are mistaken! If these characters think that they are bigger than Zambians… They are mistaken, because Zambians are watching but a day of reckoning is coming. Water always finds its level and no political prostitutes who move from party to party will be allowed any space. Hiding behind cadres is not going to help them at all. One thing is certain.. The PF mob is scared and sometimes its just great to see themselves self destruct.
Hey, about the fund to support Prime TV with legal fees, I am down for it! Let’s take the little action we can, as opposed to simply being online.
Let’s roll ladies and gentlemen.
Appeal to the minister? It’s the old adage of a chicken going to the foxes to seek justice.
Marubbish article. Sishuwa is a lousy nut.
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Don’t waste reading articles from !d!ots like him.
ECL will wipe your @$$€$ clean politically not by tricks and juju. Just clean game.
“Social media is for all, while journalism is for trained communicators (Professionals). But if you allow all and sundry to masquerade as journalists, your profession will perish and you will have yourselves to blame”, ECL, POTROZand CICOTAFs.
Zambians hate each other so much that Politics raises above all. Makes me wonder how we can proclaim to be a Christian Nation. The Government is wrong on this matter. No matter was Shawa has done, it does not deserve a closure of a TV station. Think of the people working there and loss of revenue in Taxes.
Bafikala imwe
Business is business, where in Prime TV articles of association does it say that it has to do any charity work for govt. Prime TV is legal business entity in which shawa and the business are separate persons. You can’t connect the two, if shawa erred which I don’t believe he did deal with him alone and leave the company out of it. The lawyer for Prime TV is dull but I have given you a hint to use in fighting for Prime TV. Prime TV has got its own social responsibility programs and govt can’t enforce anything on Prime TV using the useless pamaka gimmick. My warning to fellow zambians is keep on being silent until the PF power themselves into disrupting your own houses and overthrowing you as head of house. Let’s all put PF where it belongs behind bars
Can international rights bodies help Prime TV? This is interfering with democracy
I believe that PF operates by using force and not brains just as their slogan states, no wonder our country is in shambles. That do as I say power seer1 gave them is the cause of PF’S lack of reasoning.
Lungu will be hit by a lighting this year, he wont reach the election day. I end here.
Independent authority iwe chi Kaizar. What independent authority is led by a bootlicker? A respected retired broadcaster should have headed the IBA If not a respected lawyer. Who is Mapoma whom Zambian journalism has never heard of?
What is the IBA? Why do we have to have it? What are the qualifications of IBA members? Is it a censorship board? Is Kanganja one of its members? If not why did he lend his police to escort the IBA in closing Prime TV?
The government has done well. Some medias in this country will bring civil war due to their biasness in reporting.
They are sponsored by the opposition parts to paint the the government black.
Of course we know that they are free to report anything but they should be selective at some point
I haven’t seen this media together with muvi tv reporting any development news that government has done, all I see is negative.
Next is muvi tv.