FREE Press Initiative (FPI) founder Joan Chirwa says the newly enacted Cyber Security Act poses a serious threat to investigative journalism in Zambia, warning that it criminalises the very processes journalists use to uncover critical information. In an interview, Chirwa questioned why the current administration, once vocal critics of the law while in opposition, had not only retained it but strengthened it. “There are so many provisions in the Cyber Crimes and Cyber Security Act that are extremely concerning for us as journalists or as Zambia Free Press Initiative. We fear for what is going to become of independent and investigative journalism in our country when all the processes usually taken by journalists to collect information have now been criminalised....
