Zambian Courts Quash Journalist Deportation Order

29 January 2008

The Zambian Supreme Court has upheld the 2004 High Court decision not to deport satirical columnist Roy Clarke, a British national permanently resident in Zambia, over a column published in the privately owned Post newspaper on first January 2004, allegedly insulting President Levy Mwanawasa.

On 24 January 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that the High Court was in order to reject the government�s deportation order to remove Clarke from the country but warned against irresponsible journalism that failed to recognise �cultural norms�.

A full Supreme Court bench comprising Zambia�s Chief Justice Ernest Sakala, and four other Justices ruled that the deportation order was disproportionate to the article in question and dismissed the government�s appeal to overturn the original judgement. As a result, Clarke is free to stay in Zambia.
The Court criticised Clarke in its judgement, calling him an �eccentric old man� who �is impervious to cultural norms� and has �warped ideas of the freedom of expression�.

The justices warned that the judgement did not mean that journalists could write whatever they wanted, as freedom of expression was limited by the laws and Constitution of Zambia. Clarke�s legal representative, Dr Patrick Matibini, described the judgement as a landmark decision.

�It�s the first time in the legal history of the country that a serious attempt to define the limits of Freedom of Expression has been made,� Dr Matibini said.
On his part, Clarke said he would continue to write and play his role as a watchdog.
�The main purpose of the press in a democracy is to hold the government to account, to speak truth to power, and that is what political satire does,� he said.

MISA Zambia chairperson Henry Kabwe said the ruling by the Court had shown that there was a shift in the Zambian mindset in terms of Freedom of Expression because it was slowly being recognised as a fundamental right. He said the ruling exhibited the Judiciary�s independence and said it would set a precedent for other future cases.

The Home Affairs Minister, Ronnie Shikapwasha, had issued the deportation order on the grounds that Clarke was a danger to Zambian society. Clarke, who is married to a Zambian and has lived in the country for more than 40 years, was given only 24 hours to leave the country. On 26 April 2004, the Lusaka High Court quashed the deportation order whereupon the state appealed to the Supreme Court.
ENDS

Source:MISA