By Patricia Banda
A 21-year-old blogger, Steve Mwanza, of Luanshya in Copperbelt Province, has been arrested by the Zambia Cyber Security Agency for sharing a video online in which President Hakainde Hichilema was insulted.
According to a statement issued to ZNBC News in Lusaka, Mwanza was arrested on Friday, May 22, 2026.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the accused obtained the viral video from another individual, who is yet to be apprehended, after being asked to share it online. Mwanza later posted the video on his Facebook page.
He is currently detained at Lusaka Central Police Station, awaiting prosecution under the Cyber Security Crimes Act No. 4 of 2025.
The Agency has urged citizens to avoid such conduct, warning that the use and sharing of insulting language online constitutes an offence, attracting a two-year sentence upon conviction and a fine not exceeding 200,000 penalty units.
It further encouraged citizens to work together to build a society that embraces good ethos, stressing that politics, even during the election period, should be devoid of insults and instead be a competition of ideas.
ZNBC