Archives: Dispatches

The Mast is a privately owned independent daily newspaper published in Lusaka, Zambia, incorporated on September 15, 2016 under Oracle Media and owned by Mutinta Mazoka-M’membe. The paper was founded as a direct successor to The Post, another leading Zambian publication, after Zambian tax authorities ordered the closure of Post Newspapers Limited on June 21, 2016, demanding 6.1 million US dollars in tax arrears, and a court placed the company in liquidation in November 2016. Fred M’membe, husband of Mazoka-M’membe, had founded and edited The Post from 1991 until its closure and remains closely associated with The Mast. In February 2017, the International Press Institute reported that over 20 armed police officers raided the couple’s home, arrested Mazoka-M’membe, and attempted to prevent the paper from printing — actions IPI characterized as a politically motivated campaign to silence criticism of the ruling Patriotic Front government of President Edgar Lungu. Reporters Without Borders identifies The Mast, alongside News Diggers and the Daily Nation, as one of Zambia’s three most influential newspapers. The paper publishes daily print and digital editions.

The Daily Nation is a privately owned daily newspaper published in Lusaka, Zambia, owned by veteran journalist Richard Sakala. The paper describes itself on its website as “The People’s Newspaper” and claims on the banner of its news site to pursue “justice and equity with integrity.” Reporters Without Borders identifies the Daily Nation, alongside News Diggers and The Mast, as one of Zambia’s three most influential private newspapers in the country. Successive governments have brought legal pressure to bear on the paper, most notably in December 2013 when Zambian police arrested and charged Sakala and production editor Simon Mwanza under Section 67 of the penal code for “publication of false information with intent to cause public alarm” in connection with a report citing civil society concerns about an alleged secret police militia recruitment, and again in 2014 when then-President Michael Sata personally filed and testified in a defamation suit against Sakala, which Freedom House documented as part of a broader pattern of official pressure on independent print outlets. The paper publishes daily print and digital editions and operates an e-paper subscription platform.