[THREAD] This #WorldPressFreedomDay, a thread acknowledging our brave colleagues in media, #journalism and #satire in southern Africa. 🌍
Our producer @SteveSince91 met a few at a digital activism & internet freedom (un)conference in Lusaka in March.
Our producer @SteveSince91 met a few at a digital activism & internet freedom (un)conference in Lusaka in March.
First up, the amazing Zimbabwean satirist, and host of The Week on @MagambaTV , @ComradeFatsooo. The most passionate giving person who wants to grow the SADC satirical community, he works on cheeky political satire in Zim 🇿🇼 under tough conditions.
It was he who first reached out to us on Twitter. He later suggested we join an African satire network he was forming alongside the likes of @KagisoLediga @iampilato @bustoptv @xyzshow and a few other huge satirists, artists & activists! We were honoured to be included! 🤩😎
He then connected us to Richard Mulonga who runs #BloggersofZambia an emerging, independent and non-profit enterprise working in Internet Governance, Digital Rights, Media Literacy and Freedom and online Creative Content Management in Zambia🇿🇲. #OpenSpaceZm
Richard is a committed, dedicated and passionate tour de force in Zambia in the #digitalactivism #onlinefreedom and #PressFreedom space. He is currently working on a programme to improve relations between journos & police in Zambia. Pic of Rich via @usembassyzam.
Next up, the legendary @PastorEvanLive who created the #ThisFlag movement with a single video in Zimbabwe, sending shock waves through Robert Mugabe's regime in 2016. Read @simonallison's great article for context: theguardian.com/world/2016/may…
Pastor Evan had us all enraptured with his accounts of arrests, jail time and the incredible personal toll he pays for his dedication to the pursuit of #FreedomOfExpression in Zimbabwe.
He joked it was a good thing the conference organisers didn't fly all the Zim activists on the same flight to Lusaka or they probably wouldn't have gotten through airport security! 😂
Next up, Zambian artist, outspoken government critic and activist @iampilato. He created a Zambian response video to the #ThisIsAmerica video youtube.com/watch?v=UklTxt…
.@iampilato is a rap artist who centres his work on his politics. For this, he has been thrown in jail and beaten up. His central mission is a quest for #FreedomOfExpression & #FreedomOfExpression. His music is banned from almost all Zambian radio stations
Worryingly, just recently a Zambian privately owned TV station called Prime TV had its license to broadcast revoked, some suspect as a means for Pres. Edgar Lungu to silence his critics ahead of the 2021 elections. This has sparked #OpenPrimeTV movement
On the political journalism front, we heard from the amazing @OpenParlyZED and @OpenParlyZw teams who cover parliament in Zambia and Zim respectively by using Facebook Live to stream key events to the public and break down key decisions into accessible graphics
Their videos have garnered millions of views. Before they started doing the live streams, there was no way for Zimbabwean citizens to see an #unfilteredjournalism version of the parliamentary proceedings and decisions, so accountability was difficult
We also met the amazing singer and passionate advocate for women artists' empowerment, @Wezi_heartsound. Check her music out, you won't be disappointed: youtube.com/channel/UCbKYy…
Another voice for satire and freedom of expression in Zambia is brilliant cartoonist, CHOKLET @KombeKazembe, who is behind this brilliant cartoon. Those who enjoy @zapiro should give him a follow.
To sum up, with a minute left until the end of this year's #WorldPressFreedomDay, Southern Africa still has a long way to go to ensure #freedomofexpression and press.
Bulanda from @ParadigmHQ told us at the conference that many countries in Africa have had internet shutdowns, and it's a worrying growing trend, threatening freedom of expression and free and fair elections.
We South Africans need to put pressure on @DIRCO_ZA to make sure they let our neighbours in the region know they need to respect #pressfreedom. /END
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