{"id":40490,"date":"2026-07-24T12:50:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T10:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=40490"},"modified":"2026-07-24T12:50:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T10:50:48","slug":"amnesty-urges-zambia-to-free-journalist","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/amnesty-urges-zambia-to-free-journalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Amnesty urges Zambia to free journalist"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Human rights\u00a0organisation\u00a0Amnesty International is calling on the Zambian government to release journalist\u00a0MacPherson\u00a0Mukuka\u00a0and drop all charges against him.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">The\u00a0<i>Zambia National Broadcasting Corporatio<\/i>n reporter was arrested after allegedly recording and sharing a private conversation on social media.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Amnesty says the case raises serious concerns about media freedom ahead of Zambia&#8217;s general elections in August 13.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Amnesty International says the arrest of Mukuka\u00a0has intensified concerns over the use of Zambia&#8217;s Cyber Crimes Act against journalists.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Mukuka\u00a0was detained after allegedly recording and posting a private conversation involving public officials.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">The\u00a0organisation\u00a0argues that using criminal law against journalists for carrying out their work could discourage investigative reporting and weaken public accountability.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Tshidi\u00a0Leatswe, Regional Campaigner on Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe at Amnesty International, says the arrest could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mukuga&#8217;s\u00a0arrest raises serious concerns about the application of Zambia&#8217;s Cyber Crimes Act and its potentially chilling effect on investigative journalism. Amnesty International is concerned that using these criminal laws against journalists for carrying out their work can create a climate of fear. And journalists,\u00a0whistleblowers, and sources may become reluctant to investigate on reports on matters of public interest because they fear prosecution. That kind of self-censorship under minds accountability.&#8221;<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">The case has also reignited debate over balancing the right to privacy with freedom of expression.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Amnesty says while governments have a legitimate responsibility to protect people&#8217;s privacy, any restrictions on free expression must meet international human rights standards and should not prevent reporting on matters that are in the public interest.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">&#8211;ChannelAfrica\/ Lebogang\u00a0Mabange&#8211;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40491,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-40490","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"","published_date":"","news_description":"Calls for release of Zambian journalist\u00a0MacPherson\u00a0Mukuka\u00a0","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40492,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40490\/revisions\/40492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}