On April 8, 2025, Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema signed into law the Cyber Crimes Act 2025,updating the 2021 version with rather very intrusive provisions.
The new law has also removed the Zambia Cyber Security Agency from an independent agency of state, and localized it in the Office of the President.
The law allows for the interception and surveillance of all electronic communications, including calls, emails, messages and streamed content. Under the law a law enforcement officer with a warrant can enter any premises to search and seize a computer or computer system containing material that is either evidence necessary to prove an offence or acquired by a person as a result of an offence.
The law also allows the government to extradite Zambians who are deemed to have committed any offence under the law, with hefty fines or jail terms ranging from five (5) to fifteen (15) years, depending on the crime committed.
The new law requires Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies to proactively intercept all electronic communications for government, effectively turning Zambia into a Police state with telcos as the informants.
According to sources, the Act was signed into law with very little publicity. Many Zambians thus, only got to know about it after the US issued an advisory to its citizens traveling, or considering traveling to Zambia.
Parts of that advisory read, “As this new law introduces an intrusive surveillance ecosystem significantly different from privacy protection provisions that prevail in many countries, the embassy of the United States encourages Americans living in Zambia or considering visiting the country to carefully assess the implications of this law and adjust accordingly.”
The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has raised concerns that numerous provisions in the Act, “infringe upon the rights and freedoms of citizens, hinder a free press and have the potential to undermine the cherished democracy in our country”.
AFEX equally believe the Cyber Crimes Act 2025 is unwholesome and is replete with provisions that infringe on human rights. In addition, the Act is dangerous to free expression, as well as independent journalism, which are among the most effective ways to hold the government and duty bearers to account. We condemn the secrecy and obscurantism that characterized its passage and urge the government to revoke the law for wider consultations before passage.
