Zim Now interview the newly elected SAPC Chairperson to find out what to expect from the region's most ambitious media accountability setup.
Loughty Dube was elected inaugural Chairperson of the Southern African Press Councils at its founding meeting, a moment he describes not as personal recognition but as a verdict on Zimbabwe's contribution to the craft. "It gives the country the advantage of setting the agenda," he told Zim Now in an interview after the vote.
Dube has spent years steering Zimbabwe's Voluntary Media Council through regulatory terrain that would have broken lesser institutions' statutory frameworks, dual frameworks, co-regulatory frameworks, and every political headwind in between. On 19 March 2026 in Lusaka, his peers across southern Africa decided that experience was exactly what the region needed at the top.
What Zimbabwe brings
While most SAPC founding members—Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, and Eswatini—operate clean self-regulatory models, Zimbabwe has been through the full gauntlet. The VMCZ has functioned alongside a statutory regulator, absorbed political pressure, and survived. That institutional scar tissue, Dube argues, is a competitive advantage when navigating a region where governments routinely treat press freedom as a policy variable.
"This experience will come in handy when comparing the regional media regulatory framework and collaborating with partners in reforming the media landscape," he said.
Real teeth, not just a charter
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The SAPC's credibility will ultimately rest on whether it can influence governments, not just issue statements. Dube is betting on a pressure-plus-partnership model. Several SADC governments have already shelved legislation that would have entrenched statutory media control. The SAPC intends to keep that momentum going through direct government engagement, lobbying for progressive media law reform, and working alongside existing regulators like the Zimbabwe Media Commission for the common good of all stakeholders, including the media industry, authorities, and the public.
On misinformation, without becoming the thought police
Rather than positioning the SAPC as a regional arbiter of truth, a role that would hand governments a ready-made weapon, Dube says the focus will be on citizen empowerment. National campaigns. Media literacy. Teaching audiences to distinguish credible journalism from political noise.
It's a smart read of the risk. In a region where "misinformation" is frequently what officials call reporting they don't like, the SAPC is choosing to arm the public rather than police the press.
The two-year test
By 2028, Dube wants all 15 SADC member states' press councils inside the tent, regional capacity programs running, and the SAPC recognized as the authoritative voice on media ethics in southern Africa.
For the journalist in Lilongwe grinding out a story under pressure, or the editor in Windhoek pushing back on an advertiser, that would mean SACP capacitating media practitioners and standing for them when ethics are at risk.
The SAPC was formally constituted in Lusaka on 19 March 2026 following the adoption of the Zambia Declaration.
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