Pornography: The tragedy of Zambia’s poor reading culture

Dear Editor, IN the past two days Facebook has been awash with a lie and misleading article claiming that if anyone has pornographic material on their phone or computer they will be arrested and jailed for five years. As usual, without reading the Act, many Facebookers have gone to town casting aspersions against the Cyber Law without knowing the facts. There is absolutely nowhere in the Cyber Law where the Act states that a person who happens to have pornographic material on his phone or computer will be arrested and jailed for five years.  This is cheap propaganda, trying to hoodwink some gullible citizens to rise against the Cyber Law. The law only targets individuals who participate in the production, circulating and offering of Porn. So if you are not producing or participating in the production, offering and circulation of porn you have nothing to worry about. Only people with criminal intent should be worried about the Cyber Law. For removal of doubt refer to the law as quoted here: “Part IX Clause 56 Cyber Security and Cyber 8Crimes Act 2021 56. (1) A person shall not produce or participate in the production of pornography using a computer system. (2) A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) is liable, to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or both. (3) A person who knowingly: (a) Produces pornography for the purpose of its distribution for profit through a computer system commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million penalty units or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years, or to both; and (b) Offers, circulates or makes available, pornography through a computer system commits an offence and is liable on conviction, to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or to both. ANTONIO MOURINHO MWANZA