WEDNESDAY, 12.00NOON
THE Zambian government will appeal on Thursday against a court decision last year to release two editors who had been jailed indefinitely for “contempt of parliament”.
Attorney-general George Chilupe will appeal against the release of Zambia Post editor-in-chief Fred M’membe and former managing editor Bright Mwape, who were detained on March 4, 1996 on the order of the speaker of parliament, and released three weeks later by the Lusaka High Court.
The attorney-general will argue that the judge was wrong in claiming that parliament was not a court of law; wrong in claiming the sentence was indefinite (because it required only an apology and retraction); and wrong in saying parliament did not have the authority to deal with this case.
The two editors were arrested after an article appeared criticising the vice-president’s remarks about the need for police permits for public gatherings in the run-up to elections last year. The Post has frequently clashed with the increasingly intolerant goverment of President Frederick Chiluba.
The Zambia Independent Media Association has objected to the resumption of the case after a year of silence, accusing the authorities of “very bad faith” because the two have already served jail sentences.