Zambia Editor in ‘Obscenity’ Trial Returns to Court
Prosecutors Suggest Chansa Kabwela’s Newspaper Face Contempt Charges for Printing Article on Case by Ivy League Professor
The Post newspaper editor Chansa Kabwela returned to a Zambian court on Friday in an obscenity case brought against her after she sent photos of a woman giving birth in the street to Zambia’s vice president and health minister, as well as civil society and other government figures, to draw attention to the consequences of a health sector strike. She faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.
Kabwela was arrested on 13 July for circulating obscene material contrary to section 177(b) of the Penal Code, which makes it illegal to possess or distribute an “object tending to corrupt morals.” She pleaded not guilty the next day.
At a June press conference, Zambian President Rupiah Banda accused the person who took the photographs of being “morbid and peculiar,” and added that he hoped “there are laws in this country to stop the young men taking pornographic [sic].”
The Post told IPI that the photos were taken by relatives of the woman, who then delivered them to the newsroom.
The woman pictured in the photographs is shown delivering a breech birth in a street outside a hospital, without proper medical attention and in unsanitary conditions. The baby later died.
In a new development, prosecutors called for contempt proceedings against The Post for publishing an article by a Cornell University law professor entitled: “The Chansa Kabwela case: a comedy of errors.”
State prosecutors claim that the article, written by Professor Muna Ndulo and published on 27 August, is prejudicial and amounts to contempt under Section 116 of the Penal Code.
Professor Ndulo’s opinion piece criticizes actions taken by the president, the police and the Director of Public Prosecution in handling the case. “No other case has damaged Zambia’s image and standing as a tolerant and democratic country in the world than the Chansa Kabwela case,” Ndulo states.
The court will decide on Monday whether the contempt proceedings against The Post should continue. If found guilty, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Fred M’membe could face six months in prison.
“We are watching and waiting to see how the court rules on Monday,” Sam Mujuda, The Post’s deputy managing director and legal counsel, told IPI.
“As far as we are concerned the article is not contemptuous and is not capable of influencing the magistrate because it does not go into the merits of the case.”
This is the second time that the prosecution has accused The Post of contempt. On 5 August, during Kabwela’s first day in court, prosecutors claimed that an opinion piece by press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders constituted contempt. The Post received a warning from the court.
“The suggestion that charges of contempt be brought against the newspaper for publishing an article by a Cornell University professor adds insult to injury,” said IPI Deputy Director Alison Bethel McKenzie. “The obscenity case should be dropped. Contempt proceedings against the newspaper should not be initiated.”
The Post has long been at loggerheads with President Banda’s ruling party, the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), and the newspaper’s journalists have reportedly been assaulted on several occasions by ruling party members.
At the time of Kabwela’s arrest, representatives from The Post told IPI they were convinced the arrest was political and another effort to intimidate journalists at the newspaper.