• MultiChoice Zambia spokesperson Mwiika Malindima (left), general manager Simon Bota (second left), acting police spokesperson Esther Katongo and Intellectual Property specialist Kingsley Nkonde (right) inspecting some of the seized decoders that were being used to illegally access DStv channels in Lusaka on Monday. Picture by CHUSA SICHONE

By CHUSA SICHONE –
A SCAM has been unearthed in which some people are selling decoders that are providing illegal access to DSTV channels.
Police in Lusaka have since arrested eight people, among them a named former ZNBC employee, in connection with the vice.
Acting police spokesperson Esther Katongo said in Lusaka on Monday that following an operation conducted at the weekend, police also seized 42 decoders, among other electrical gadgets, which the accused manipulated using a certain software to access the DStv signal without using a smart card and paying subscription.
Ms Katongo identified the suspects as Margaret Zwelopili, 38, Gloria Mwamba,24, Lawrence Sinyangwe, 28, John Mwape, 24, Sililo Simushi, 29, Funny Zimba, 31, and John Manda, 36.
Ms Katongo said the eight who were currently in detention have been charged with possession and unlawful dealing in electronic communication apparatus capable of monitoring or intercepting the transmission of an electronic network or service.
She said the eight were further charged with unlawful access of a television signal or channel by using decoders and would appear in court soon.
MultiChoice Zambia general manager Simon Bota said he was happy that the police together with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Service were able to “crack” the syndicate.
Mr Bota said such illegal activities jeopardised the jobs MultiChoice had created and the television industry as a whole.
“I would also like to discourage those people who purchase these decoders because the only way you can access the DSTV channels is by paying monthly subscription through Multi Choice for the DSTV service but if you are receiving it free of charge then obviously there is a problem,” he said
He said the scourge had been going on for a while and that what had been unearthed was a tip of an ice berg, adding that the Multi Choice business had negatively been affected but could not immediately quantify the damage.
Intellectual Property specialist Kingsley Nkonde said the decoders in question operated with a SIM Card and that the culprits installed the gadget with software that allowed free access to all the DSTV channels.
Mr Nkonde also produced a Facebook printout in which the decoder dealers were advertising the gadget sold at K1,600 and those who bought it would access the DSTV full bouquet channels for free for one year coupled with over 700 free-to-air channels and only needed to bundle their SIM cards with K5 for internet services.
Information Permanent Secretary Bert Mushala warned the perpetrators that it was unlawful for anyone to access a television signal as outlined in the amended Copyright and Performance Rights Act No 25 of 2010.
“The Ministry, working together with the Intellectual Property Unit under the Zambia Police Service, has started closing in on the perpetrators and some of them have already been arrested,” he said.