News reporters working for Zambian local television station Muvi Television were on Monday brutally beaten, purportedly by supporters of the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) in Lusaka West.  Although the government has called for the prosecution of the perpetrators, IPI is concerned about a culture of impunity for political party supporters that those who attack journalists – especially as elections are scheduled to be held this year in the southern African country.

MUVI television executives today demanded the prosecution of the perpetrators, according to reports. IPI joins their call and adds that violence against journalists is the most primitive form of censorship.

“We are appalled by this act of violence against the media. It is imperative that citizens understand and respect the role of the media in society,” said International Press Institute (IPI) Director Alison Bethel McKenzie. “Those who beat journalists harm the public’s right to know.”

The news crew was attacked by about 100 people suspected of being members of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) when they went to cover a story about a land dispute in the capital city of Lusaka, according to African Review.

Reports say the MMD supporters subsequently seized a video camera, a tripod stand, a microphone, four mobile phones and undisclosed amounts of money.

Muvi TV Managing Editor Costa Mwansa, who had assigned the reporters to pursue the story, has confirmed the incident to the Post newspaper in Lusaka. “The news crew was assigned to go and report on the injustice but unfortunately became victims themselves,” Mwansa said. “This was a barbaric act.”

The incident is believed to have taken place in a farmyard belonging to a woman who had reportedly herself been the victim of an attack in an earlier occurrence, according to the Post.

Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha said in a statement yesterday that the act was unconstitutional and intolerable.

He advised political activists and the public at large to respect journalists and refrain from engaging in any manner of violence against media practitioners: “I restate the government’s position which is that perpetrators of violence against journalists or any other person will be met by the full force of the law. We cannot allow anarchy in the nation as we approach the sensitive period of general elections.”

He said journalists should be free to gather and disseminate information to the public.