After months of legal drama and public anticipation, News Diggers has finally premiered its explosive documentary at Radisson Blu Hotel and aired it across its social media platforms on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.
In May 2025, News Diggers released a trailer for its investigative documentary titled “Chinese Investment in Zambia: The Good, the Bad and the Dangerous,” which highlights allegations including illegal mining, environmental degradation, fraud, labor abuses, and even sex trafficking linked to Chinese-owned operations in Zambia.
A day before the documentary’s scheduled premiere on May 23, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Zambia secured an interim injunction from the Lusaka High Court, arguing that the teaser was defamatory and misrepresented Chinese businesses.
The injunction banned the airing of the full documentary, exposing News Diggers to potential contempt of court charges and penalties, including imprisonment or fines of up to 300 kwacha (about US \$12).
After the June 12 hearing date passed, the High Court lifted the injunction on July 18, ruling that the Chamber had no valid cause of action clearing the way for News Diggers to finally air the documentary as initially planned.
“It was a very difficult undertaking. We started this work three to four years ago, compiling data and speaking to people. We visited a lot of dangerous places to come up with this documentary,” said News Diggers Editor-in-Chief Joseph Mwenda in an interview on the red carpet at Radisson Blu Hotel today.
“What we are hoping to do now is to reach a lot of people, because we want them to understand why we have produced this documentary, what has gone wrong, and why we need some collective measures around it.”