Zambian newspaper, Zambia Post has had to shut its doors due to pressure from the government allegedly due to an unpaid tax bill to the amount of USD$6.1m (£4.1m).
Editor Fred M’membe and his wife have also been arrested by the authorities alongside deputy editor Joseph Mwenda. Amnesty International have called The Post‘s closure ‘an attempt to silence independent media voices in the country ahead of an election’.
On June 22 The Post printed an article titled ‘What are they after?’ in response to raids where they worked and printed the newspaper. The article states ‘from their behaviour it is clear that this is not tax collection they are after; it is simply to close The Post at any cost.’
General elections will be held in Zambia on 11 August 2016 to elect the President and National Assembly. President Lungu has only been in power since January 2015, when he was elected in a by-election. Maybe he’s getting nervous.
Keep up to date with events leading up to the election #ZambiaDecides