Fred M'membe

Last updated

Fred M'membe
Born
Fred M'membe

(1959-03-11) 11 March 1959 (age 63)
Mongu, Barotseland
NationalityZambian
Alma mater The Copperbelt University,Dip., University of Zambia, LLB, MA, PhD
OccupationJournalist, editor, Politician
Organization Zambia Post
Political party Socialist Party
Spouse(s) Mutinta Mazoka
Awards MISA's Press Freedom Award (1995)
International Press Freedom Award (1995)
World Press Freedom Hero (2000)

Fred M'membe (born 11 March 1959) is a Zambian journalist known for his editorship of the Zambia Post . He has received numerous international awards for his reporting. In 2000, the International Press Institute named him one of its World Press Freedom Heroes. [1]

Contents

Background

M'membe was born in Mongu, Barotseland, on 11 March 1959. He went to St John's Secondary School, where he did his junior secondary, and later went to St Francis in Malole, where he completed his senior secondary. He studied accounting at the Copperbelt University. He worked for a time as an accountant before moving into journalism in November 1990. He is also a qualified member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and has a Master in Economic Policy and Planning from the University of Zambia. He also holds a law degree from the University of Zambia and is an advocate of the High Court and Supreme Court of Zambia.

He met Mike Hall, a Malawi-born journalist who covered Southern Africa for the BBC and UK and US newspapers. [2] At the time, Zambia had only two newspapers, both of them controlled by the government of Kenneth Kaunda, and the pair felt that an independent news source was long overdue. With Hall's help, M'membe went on to found Post Newspapers Limited in 1991, as well as a printing company, Independent Printers Limited, which would be responsible for printing The Zambia Post , Post Newspapers' flagship publication. [1] The pair modelled the paper's design on South Africa's liberal Weekly Mail and Lisbon, Portugal's daily Público . Despite a modest circulation of 40,000 and Zambia's "anemic" economy, the paper quickly proved a financial success. [2]

Chiluba era

As the only independent newspaper in Zambia, [3] The Post has frequently come into conflict with the government. In the first ten years of its existence alone, it was the target of more than fifty criminal and civil suits. [1] Though the paper supported Frederick Chiluba's Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) in the 1991 election that ousted Kenneth Kaunda and won Chiluba the presidency, M'membe soon became critical of what he perceived as Chiluba's failure to live up to his campaign promises. [1]

Ahead of the 1996 general election, Chiluba's government increased its efforts to restrict independent media. [1] On 5 February 1996, The Post reported the MMD's plans to hold a referendum on constitutional changes. Chiluba's government banned the edition and charged M'membe, managing editor Bright Mwape, and special projects editor Masautso Phiri with possession of a banned publication and state secrets, causing the three to go into hiding for several weeks to avoid arrest. M'membe and Mwape surrendered to authorities in March and were sentenced to 24 days in a maximum security prison on charges of contempt of Parliament. [1] The charges were protested by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which launched a letter-writing campaign to secure the pair's release. [4]

In 1999, M'membe and ten members of his staff were charged with espionage following a Post article that stated that Zambia was unprepared to withstand a possible military attack from Angola. [5] The newspaper's offices were also surrounded by police to prevent further publishing. [6] M'membe's co-defendants were acquitted by the Lusaka High Court on 18 August 2000, though the judge ruled that M'membe himself still had to answer the case. [7] He was acquitted in December of the same year. [3]

In August 2001, M'membe was arrested again following an article in which he accused Chiluba of embezzlement. The article began, "It's very difficult to avoid calling President Frederick Chiluba a thief, because he is a thief. How else can one describe a person who steals?" [8] M'membe was charged with defaming the president, charges The New York Times described as "efforts to muzzle the press" ahead of impending elections. [8]

Post-Chiluba controversies

Though Chiluba was barred by the Constitution of Zambia from seeking a third term, he was succeeded by his former vice-president and fellow MMD member Levy Mwanawasa. M'membe soon found himself in conflict with Mwanawasa as he had been with Chiluba, and was arrested on 12 February 2002 on defamation charges following publication of an article in which he quoted opposition lawmaker Dipak Patel as calling Mwanawasa a "cabbage", an apparent reference to Mwanawasa's condition following a serious traffic accident that left him with slurred speech. [9] M'membe stated that he believed the charges to be "politically motivated", and that Patel (who was also issued a summons) was their primary target. [10]

During a June 2009 hospital strike, Post News Editor Chansa Kabwela forwarded to Vice-President George Kunda pictures that had been given to the newspaper of a woman giving birth in the street, which she felt were important to share but too graphic to publish. The following month, she was arrested on a charge of "distributing obscene materials in order to corrupt the morals of society". [11] The charges against her were dismissed by a judge in November 2009, but after M'membe published an op-ed piece from a Zambian lawyer living abroad in Kabwela's support, he was charged with contempt of court. [11] He was convicted in June 2010 and sentenced to four months' hard labour. [12]

In July 2011, M'membe again faced a charge of contempt of court for defying a ban not to print "libelous" articles about presidential candidate (later president) Rupiah Banda. [13]

On 1 November 2016, the Post newspaper was placed under provisional liquidation after five former employees applied to court to have the company placed on liquidation in order to recover their terminal benefits. According to documents filed in court, the five former employees did not give the Post the statutory 21-day notice before a petition for liquidation can be filed. Documents filed in Court also show that an offer was made by M'membe to pay the monies demanded by the former employees into court, which offer had not been accepted.

The newspaper was instrumental in covering the pre- and post-2016-election irregularities, and this is cited as one of the reasons why the newspaper was shut down. The Zambia Revenue Authority in June 2016 illegally closed the Post in contravention of an Order of the Tax Appeals Tribunal, in a move clearly intended to shut down the critical voice. On 14 February 2017, Valentine's Day, the Magistrate's Court of Zambia issued an arrest warrant to the Zambia Police Service to arrest Fred M'membe and his lawyer Nchima Nchito for alleged "personation" for fighting to save the Post. Nchima's arrest warrant was quashed by the Court on 28 February 2017. As police reached Mr. M'membe's residence, he was absent and only his wife (Mutinta Mazoka, daughter of the late UPND leader Anderson Mazoka) was present. She was arrested and charged with attempting to prevent the arrest of her husband, but was acquitted the following year. [14] She was previously arrested in connection with she and M'membe's journalistic work in 2016. [15] She is the proprietor of the Mast newspaper which after the closure of the Post has remained one of the few critical and independent voices providing checks and balances to the Zambian government. [ citation needed ]

Presidential campaign

In 2018, M'membe founded the Socialist Party, splitting off from the Rainbow Party. He was the party's candidate for president in the 2021 Zambian general election and is still President of the Socialist Party in Zambia. [16]

Personal life

M'membe is married to Mutinta Mazoka, a politician, newspaper owner, and the daughter of United Party for National Development founder Anderson Mazoka. [17]

Recognition

M'membe was the third recipient of the Media Institute of Southern Africa's Press Freedom Award in 1995. MISA described him as "the most persecuted journalist in his country and the rest of the region." [18] Previous awardees include Onesimo Makani Kabweza and Basildon Peta.

In 1995, M'membe won the International Press Freedom Award of the Committee to Protect Journalists, [19] "an annual recognition of courageous journalism". [20]

In 2000, he was selected by the International Press Institute as one of 50 "World Press Freedom Heroes" of the organisation's fifty years of existence. [1]

Related Research Articles

Politics of Zambia Political system of Zambia

The politics of Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Zambia is head of state, head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government, while legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Formerly Northern Rhodesia, Zambia became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964.

Frederick Chiluba Former President of Zambia (1991–2002)

Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), defeating long-time President Kenneth Kaunda. He was re-elected in 1996. As he was unable to run for a third term in 2001, former Vice President Levy Mwanawasa instead ran as the MMD candidate and succeeded him. After leaving office, Chiluba was the subject of a long investigation and trial regarding alleged corruption; he was eventually acquitted in 2009.

Levy Mwanawasa Former President of Zambia (1948–2008)

Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was the third president of Zambia. He served as president from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. Mwanawasa is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the corruption situation in Zambia during his term. Prior to Mwanawasa's election, he served as the fourth vice-president of Zambia from November 1991 to July 1994, whilst an elected Member of Parliament of Chifubu Constituency.

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy Zambian political party, dominate 1991-2011

The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past leader, Frederick Chiluba was President of Zambia. Its election into power in 1991 ended the 27-year rule of President Kenneth Kaunda and his United National Independence Party (UNIP). It remained the dominant party within Zambian politics until the general elections of September 2011.

President of Zambia Head of state of Zambia

The president of Zambia is the head of state and the head of government of Zambia. The office was first held by Kenneth Kaunda following independence in 1964. Since 1991, when Kaunda left the presidency, the office has been held by seven others: Frederick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa, Rupiah Banda, Michael Sata, Edgar Lungu and the current president Hakainde Hichilema, who won the 2021 presidential election. In addition, acting president Guy Scott served in an interim capacity after the death of President Michael Sata.

Patriotic Front (Zambia) Social democratic political party in Zambia

The Patriotic Front (PF) is a social democratic political party in Zambia. The party was formed by Michael Sata as a breakaway party of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) in 2001 after the President Frederick Chiluba nominated Levy Mwanawasa as its presidential candidate for 2001 elections. The party's main base of support are usually the youth and poor people in urban centres, as well as members of the Bemba people in Copperbelt Province and Lusaka Province.

<i>The Post</i> (Zambia) Former Zambian newspaper

The Post is an independent Zambian newspaper. It was one of the three primary newspapers of the country. The newspaper was set up in 1991. The Sunday edition of the post newspaper was called the Sunday Post and contained a special section focusing on education called Educational Post. The Post was seen to be the most popular and biggest selling newspaper in Zambia according to BBC. The newspaper was closed in 2016 for failure to settle tax obligations in what has been described as a politically motivated move over the paper's frequent criticism of the government.

Anderson Mazoka Zambian politician

Anderson K. Mazoka was a Zambian politician and President of the United Party for National Development (UPND), a leading opposition party.

2006 Zambian general election

General elections were held in Zambia on 28 September 2006 to elect a President, members of the National Assembly and local government councillors. The result was a victory for the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy, which won 75 of the 150 National Assembly seats and whose candidate, Levy Mwanawasa, won the presidential vote. Voter turnout was just over 70%.

Hakainde Hichilema President of Zambia since 2021

Hakainde Hichilema is a Zambian businessman, farmer and politician who is the seventh and current president of Zambia since 24 August 2021. After having contested five previous elections in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2016, he won the 2021 presidential election with over 59% of the vote. He has led the United Party for National Development since 2006 following the death of the party founder Anderson Mazoka.

Michael Sata Zambian politician (1937–2014)

Michael Charles Chilufya Sata was a Zambian politician who was the fifth president of Zambia, from 23 September 2011 until his death on 28 October 2014. A social democrat, he led the Patriotic Front (PF), a major political party in Zambia. Under President Frederick Chiluba, Sata was a minister during the 1990s as part of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government. He went into opposition in 2001, forming the PF. As an opposition leader, Sata – popularly known as "King Cobra" – emerged as the leading opposition presidential contender and rival to President Levy Mwanawasa in the 2006 presidential election, but was defeated. Following Mwanawasa's death, Sata ran again and lost to President Rupiah Banda in 2008.

Rupiah Banda 4th president of Zambia (2008–2011); 1937–2022

Rupiah Bwezani Banda was a Zambian politician who served as the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011, taking over from Levy Mwanawasa, who died as the sitting president. Banda was an active participant in politics from early in the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, during which time he held several diplomatic posts.

2008 Zambian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Zambia on 30 October 2008 following the death of the incumbent President Levy Mwanawasa on 19 August 2008, as the elections had to be called within 90 days of his death. It was expected that there would be internal problems within the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) as Mwanawasa had not declared a successor prior to his death, but Acting President Rupiah Banda was selected as the MMD's candidate without apparent problems. Michael Sata stood as the candidate of the Patriotic Front (PF), while Hakainde Hichilema stood as the candidate of the United Party for National Development (UPND). Godfrey Miyanda stood as the candidate of the Heritage Party.

Godfrey Miyanda is a Zambian politician and former military figure. In 1993, he served as the fifth vice-president of Zambia under Frederick Chiluba's administration. Miyanda professes to be a born-again Christian. He is married to Angela Miyanda. They have four children.

Dipak Kumar A. Patel is a Zambian politician of Hindu Indian origin. His ancestral roots traces back to Gujarat, India. He served long tenures both as a legislator and as the Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Industry.

First Lady of Zambia

First Lady of Zambia is the title attributed to the wife of the president of Zambia. Zambia's current first lady is Mutinta Hichilema, who has held the office since 24 August 2021.

Vera Tembo is a Zambian politician and member of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). She served as the First Lady of Zambia from 1991 until her separation from her former husband, President Frederick Chiluba, in 2001.

Sylvia Masebo Zambian politician

Sylvia Masebo is a Zambian entrepreneur, politician and National Assembly of Zambia representative for Chongwe constituency with the United Party for National Development (UPND). Sylvia Masebo holds a degree in Banking and Finance and has been the National Assembly of Zambia representative for Chongwe constituency since 2001; first standing on the ticket of Zambian Republican Party (ZRP) and then later, MMD Movement for Multi-Party Democracy in 2003.

Lucy Banda-Sichone (1954–1998) was a Zambian civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in representing the Zambian people who had their rights violated by the State at the time. Born and raised in Zambia's second largest city, Kitwe, she became the first Zambian woman to receive a Rhodes Scholarship and also the first woman to have her portrait displayed on the walls of Oxford University’s prestigious Rhodes House.

Mutinta Buumba Mazoka M'membe is a Zambian newspaper owner and politician. She owns the independent publication The Mast.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Fred M'membe, Zambia: World Press Freedom Hero (Honoured in 2000)". International Press Institute. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 Jane Perlez (13 November 1991). "Newspaper gains Zambia's respect". The New York Times . Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  3. 1 2 "World Briefing". The New York Times. 22 December 2000. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Attacks on the Press in 1996 – Zambia". Committee to Protect Journalists. 5 February 1996. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Zambian newspaper editor arrested". BBC News. 23 March 1999. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "World Briefing". The New York Times. 12 March 1999. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Zambian journalists cleared of espionage". BBC News. 18 August 2000. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  8. 1 2 Henri E. Cauvin (25 August 2001). "Efforts to Muzzle the Press Spread in Southern Africa". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Zambia newspaper editor arrested". BBC News. 12 February 2002. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "Zambia's cabbage case could backfire". BBC News. 14 February 2002. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  11. 1 2 Barry Bearak (13 July 2009). "In Zambia, Pictures of Birth, Mailed as Protest, Bring Arrest". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "In Zambia, Post Editor Fred M'membe sent to prison". Committee to Protect Journalists. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  13. ↑ "Post Newspaper Editor Fred M'membe loses bid to cross examine RB's lawyer". The Lusaka Times. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "Zambia : Fred M'membe's wife acquitted, slams PF for using Police for their own Political ends". Lusaka Times. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Zambian editors arrested trying to enter newspaper's offices amid tax dispute". Committee to Protect Journalists. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  16. ↑ Hamusute, Keith (25 April 2018). "Another socialist party in Zambia". Africa Is a Country. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Mutinta Mazoka: Why I chose Dad's party over my husband's – Zambia Daily Mail". www.daily-mail.co.zm. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "MISA Press Freedom Award: Previous winners". Media Institute of Southern Africa. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  19. ↑ "Journalists Receive 1996 Press Freedom Awards". Committee to Protect Journalists. 1996. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  20. ↑ "CPJ International Press Freedom Awards 2011". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.