LUNTE PF member of parliament Mutotwe Kafwaya has rubbished claims that the UPND has merely refined cyber laws to protect citizens, arguing that they have repealed a good law initiated by PF, replacing it with a bad one.
Yesterday, State House Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka said the cyber laws were initially enacted by the PF in 2021, and the UPND administration had just refined them to ensure more protection for citizens.
Commenting on the matter in an interview, Saturday, Kafwaya said UPND had repealed a good law and replaced it with a bad one.
“I am sorry, I am the one who promoted the Cyber Security and Cyber Act of 2021. I am the one who promoted it, and I am the one who took it to Cabinet, and I am the one who defended it at Cabinet level. I am the one who defended it in Parliament.
That is my law, I am actually the one who operationalised it, it was good law despite being labelled by the UPND. What the UPND has done is to repeal a good law and bring bad laws. When we enacted those laws, the American government did not comment in the manner they had commented on this one,” Kafwaya said.
“Why didn’t the American government do that? [They] didn’t see that law as bad as this one to such an extent that they warned their citizens who may consider travelling to Zambia for tourism or investment. Have you ever seen this in the past? I am sorry, I do not agree with whatever that person is saying. If you refine something, you make it better. Has the law been made better? It’s been made worse. This is so because the UPND is a deceptive government. Didn’t they deceive Zambians that the mealie meal will be K50? How much is it? Did they not deceive people that fuel will be cheaper? What is the price? Did they not deceive Zambians that fertiliser will be cheaper? How much is it? Did they not deceive that Zambia will be more united? Is it more united now?…I see a government that is deceptive. I might be wrong, but that is what I see”.
Kafwaya said government’s intention is not to protect the citizens, but to gag them.
“So, when you protect people, people must feel safe. Why would you say I am protecting you, and the person you are protecting is protesting your protection? I have a problem with anybody thinking they are protecting you and you are protesting the measure of that protection. If you, my friend, have been summoned by the police for a cyber-offence and properly summoned with a call out, why should the police say do not tell anyone, and if you tell anyone, it’s an offence? Just for telling somebody, you will go to jail.
Why should the police have secret investigations? Does that tie into what HH said when he told law enforcement agencies to work quietly? So, why should you remove accountability and transparency in the process of protecting people? Why shouldn’t people be free to discuss issues that affect them on the platform that is available for them to discuss those matters, and you call that protection?” asked Kafwaya.
“On the other hand, the Constitution guarantees those same people the right to have that communication because they have that freedom, freedom of communication, but that is what you are curtailing, and when you curtail that, you even want to use secret measures so that people do not know that you have actually inflicted pain on a suspect, I’m sorry that when you protect people, you should be proud, and people should be proud of your protection. So, for me, what the government should be asking itself is why are people protesting against what the government thinks is protection, that is not protection, it is gagging and gagging for selfish reasons on the part of the government”.
