A gay rights activist was arrested in Zambia after he appeared on live television arguing that the country, which criminalises homosexual acts, should respect same-sex relationships.

Police arrested Paul Kasonkomona on April 7, 2013 as he left the private Muvi TV studios after saying in an interview that gay rights were like any other form of human rights, to be respected at all cost. He was charged the next day with “inciting the public to take part in indecent activities”.

Kasonkomona remains in police custody, despite his supporters warning that the health of the HIV-positive… ( Read on! )

A female high court judge in Zambia has directed police to start arresting indecently dressed women.

Women in Zambia are often subjected in public to taunts and in some cases stripping if they are considered to be indecently dressed, a subject this article's writer blogged about more than five years ago.

The order is allegedly an attempt to curb the problem, but some Zambians have accused the judge of indirectly blaming women for their own assaults.

The statement of Justice Rhoyda Kaoma, judge-in-charge of the Kitwe High Court, was first reported on the Facebook page of Flava FM 87.7 radio… ( Read on! )

The stage has been set for the prosecution of Zambia’s former president Rupiah Banda on corruption charges after his presidential immunity was lifted by parliament in a raucous sitting in which the speaker was heckled and opposition members walked out.

President Banda was the country’s head of state for three years, from 2008 when he took over from President Levy Mwanawasa for whom he had been vice president, up to 2011 when his party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy was defeated in presidential and parliamentary elections.

Former President Banda whose immunity has been lifted by… ( Read on! )

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.

President Sata as a victim of the Public Order Act when he was an opposition leader himself. Picture courtesy of Zambian watchdog.

Zambia’s opposition parties have called upon the Commonwealth to suspend the country amid claims of a deteriorating political environment. They accuse Michael Sata’s Patriotic Front (PF) government of using the Public Order Act to severely curtail opposition party activities. Ironically, the Public Order Act was a piece of legislation that the Zambian President had to contend with as… ( Read on! )

BongoHive, a Zambian-based innovation hub has attracted the attention of computer and internet technology enthusiasts throughout the country. Global Voices recently caught up with Simunza Muyangana, one of the four co-founders, who explained how BongoHive provides a place for the local tech community to meet, swap experiences, attend training sessions, network, and participate in hackathon events.

Muyangana explained that BongoHive, which officially launched in May 2011, emerged from weekend sessions in which a group of IT experts volunteered to hold hands-on workshops for a recent group of… ( Read on! )