by It has been almost three months since Sambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema signed the cyber security and cyber crimes laws of 2025.
His followers welcomed the laws, called them progressive and said they would help combat digital crimes and improve national security.
However, the law groups, in particular the Cyber Crimes Act, keep undemocratic, and suffocate freedom of expression and freedom of expression.
The laws enable the interception and monitoring of all electronic communication, including calls, e -mails, messages and streamed content. The Sambia Cyber Security Agency was laid by an independent state authority and brought to the office of president.
Violation of the law also has considerable consequences: the legislation enables the delivery of sambians abroad and hard punishments, from fines to prison terms – possibly two to 25 years – depending on the specific crime.
Pushy laws
Mulambo Haimbe, Sambia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that legislation is intended to protect citizens online and not to suffocate the basic freedoms.
“This conception that the cyber laws should perhaps penetrate in order to deal with their personal details in an ordinary way is not correct”he said journalists at a press conference in Lusaka.
“It must be inserted in the correct context, contrary to the claims that the government intends to intercept its communication and to break into your device”he added.
Oliver Shalala Sepiso, a media consultant of the governing United Party for National Development (Upnd), also defended the new cyber laws in Zambia – it is not about monitoring citizens, but only for digital or data protection.
In view of the fact that the laws for the protection of sambians are intended against digital crimes and identity theft and at the same time improve national security, their creation on April 8th surprisingly received fanfare. There was so little reporting on the media that most of the Sambians only learned about the new rules by warning the United States Boty in Lusaka and that the sambians abroad warn of the intrusive nature of legislation.
“Cyber legislation is necessary to combat cybercrime that are very widespread, such as identity theft and online fraud”Richard Mulonga, CEO of bloggers from Sambia, told DW.
“There are some provisions that have the potential to limit the free expression, for example assembly and association and only wider digital rights.”
Lungisani Zulu, President of the Law Association of Sambia, said his club would question the new law in court.
“Numerous provisions of the law that is the law today violate the rights and freedoms of the citizens, hinder a free press and have the potential to undermine the estimated democracy in our country”said Zulu.
Freedom of speech in danger
The new laws replace the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act from 2021, which was adopted by former President Edgar Lungu. After these laws, the Sambia police arrived Mbewe Sibajene in April 2024 due to circulating satirical memes and videos that mock government officials and institutions. The police said that the memes were abusive, defamatory and aimed at increasing public disorders compared to state institutions.
The controversial provisions include laws that criminalize so -called incorrect information, vague definitions of indecent content and a lack of protection for journalists on sensitive national questions.
The media institute of the southern Africa (Misa), a regional media guard in eight African countries, said that the new law has already had a negative impact on journalists.
“Journalists live in fear, because whenever they do their stories, they have to make self -censorship because they do not know what will come out of what they will do”said Kennedy Mbulo, deputy chairman of Misa Zambia, said DW, said DW, also said that an individual can record an individual because one day it was used as an evidence. “
Tech-versed young sambians are divided through the new cyber laws.
Kellys Mushota, a common user and a youth member of the Sambiian union congress on social media, has found some changes online.
“The adoption of this law has led the number of harassment or even the type of harassment of harassment in the social media users to reduce the will by humans.
Joshua Seke, 22-year-old researcher in Kitwe, says that young people are concerned online that their private discussions are intercepted by the authorities.
“If you look at what young people say online, does that mean that I can’t laugh with my girl online now? Will the government actually read everything we do?” he asked.
Others, like the 31-year-old Lusaka resident Mary Ndau, said DW that the laws would discourage the abuse of online abuse.
“People will do the right one online, they will not express poor behavior or harass others online because they will be exposed to the law”she said.
Hichilema goes from the critic to the implementer
As an opposition leader, President Hichilema repeated cyber laws and described them as instruments for the government’s surveillance. Nevertheless, he has probably issued stricter cyber security laws.
According to cyber security legislation in Zambia, the Cipesa, based in Campala (cooperation on international ICT policy for Eastern and South Africa), is not only in Zambia, whereby the neighbors in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Malawi also issue cybersecurity laws.
“The countries tend to choose practices from a country and to apply in theirs”the lawyer told DW. “The entire virus always bites the rest of the continent, and these laws are effective for the governments when checking freedom of expression, access to information, meetings and associations in the online rooms.”
The West Africa Media Foundation has also reported an increase in the restrictive cyber laws that are violated against freedom of expression and privacy in countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Benin and Niger.
Published by: Cai Nebe
