Zambian journalist Thomas Zgambo arrested for 3rd time in a year

“Zambian authorities should drop all criminal cases against investigative journalist Thomas Zgambo and allow him to work freely,” said CPJ Africa Program coordinator Muthoki Mumo, in Nairobi. “The judicial harassment of Zgambo exposes the emptiness of President Hakainde Hichilema’s repeated commitments to press freedom.”  

When CPJ visited Zgambo in a police cell on October 17, he said that the police noted his alleged offense as criminal libel while recording his arrest at the station. Zgambo’s lawyer, Jonas Zimba, confirmed to CPJ that his client had not been charged. 

This is Zgambo’s third arrest within a year.

In November 2023, Zgambo was detained for four days on a charge of seditious practices — which carries a sentence of up to seven years — over an article he wrote for the online news outlet Zambian Whistleblower criticizing the government over food imports. 

In August, he was arrested for a second time on a sedition charge for his commentary calling on the government to reveal any links between a property it leased and Hichilema. Both cases are still pending in court.

Zgambo’s latest arrest came hours after Hichilema promised to uphold press freedom in a speech read on his behalf by information minister Cornelius Mweetwa.

“These persistent arrests over my reporting are meant to silence me so that I begin to report positively about the government,” Zgambo told CPJ from his police cell. 

CPJ’s requests for comment via phone and messaging app on October 18 to Hichilema, presidential spokesperson Clayson Hamasaka, and police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga did not immediately any replies.