CPJ: Critical Website Blocked For Four Days In Zambia

Cape Town, South Africa, June 27, 2013--A private website
thatdocuments alleged Zambian government corruption has been blocked
in the country since Monday, its editor told CPJ. The Zambian
Watchdog's Lloyd Himaambo has said that the website's staff believes
the authorities are responsible for ordering the blocking.
Internet and mobile service providers blocked domestic access tothe
Zambian Watchdog, a site that is registered out of the country but
publishes content by Zambian journalists and editors, Himaambo said.
The editor told CPJ that access to the site was possible only via one
of the country's three cellphone networks and that traffic to the
website had been reduced by two thirds.
Staff at the Watchdog believe the government is behind the blocking
because of its previous efforts to silence the site. It is not clear
if the government urged Internet service providers to shut off access
or used other means.
In August 2012, Zambia's Minister of Tourism called for the banning of
the Watchdog, saying that the website's critical coverage could affect
the country's image in the lead-up to the U.N. World Tourism
Organization meeting in August 2013, which Zambia is hosting,
according to news reports. The website came under an even heavier
attack by government officials in September 2012. News accounts
reported that President Michael Sata had ordered government agencies
to explore ways to block access to the site, and that Zambian Attorney
General Mumba Malila was working on a law to restrict online media.
News accounts also reported last year that the Zambian government had
engaged hackers to destroy online media, including the Zambian
Watchdog.
"In September 2011, Zambians voted Michael Sata's Patriotic Front into
power and celebrated his commitment to end corruption and promote
Zambian development. But in the past 12 months, we have witnessed a
worrying trend of efforts to intimidate and control the media, and
heavy-handed policing of opposition gatherings," said CPJ Africa
Program Coordinator Sue Valentine. "No meaningful development is
possible if people cannot air alternative views."
Himaambo told CPJ that despite having some access, the site's editors
were unable to update the website. The staff had moved the site to a
new, secure https address ( https://zambianwatchdog.com), but feared
that readers wouldhave no way of knowing the new address. Himaambo
said the loss of traffic threatened the financial sustainability of
the site.
CPJ's calls and messages left with the Zambia Information and
Communications Technology Authority were not immediately returned.