Tehillah Chimfwembe

“Online violence, defamation of character, impersonation, fake news, alternative facts and cyber bullying are serious offences and threats to individuals on the receiving end and to the public at large,” Tehillah Chimfwembe explains on national Zambian TV, ZNBC.

Her broadcasts about the responsible use of social media, what to do about cyber bullying, universal ICT access and innovation, mobile application privacy and other ICT-related issues have gained her recognition in the Zambian multimedia journalism fraternity and on TV as the face of the Zambia Information & Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), where she works as a licensing officer.

“ZICTA is Zambia’s equivalent of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA),” she explains from ZICTA’s office in the suburb of Longacres, Lusaka. “I use my law background to advise on the types of telecommunications licences that are offered in our jurisdiction for all forms of ICT – from mobile network operators to internet service providers – and what operators may or may not do.”

After graduating with her honours degree from Wits, Tehillah says, she felt a duty to return home to Zambia and contribute there. “A well-managed ICT sector can play a huge role in uplifting our economy. It’s driving the future and it puts the world at our fingertips. In Zambia there is so much scope for ICT and related businesses to grow.”

Home for Tehillah is on the outskirts of Lusaka in a farming area called Makeni. “I’m the least outdoorsy person but I live on our family farm with my Mom and Dad.” Her father, Emmanuel, is an aeronautical engineer and her mother, Jacqueline, is a lawyer, and they also keep cows and chickens. “The nice thing about Zambia is that most people have a side hustle,” she says.

One of ten siblings, she is the only one living at home at the moment. One of her brothers, Asher, is studying aeronautical engineering at Wits.

She describes herself as a “homebody” but when she goes out, one of her favourite places is a restaurant and nursery close to her home called Mint Café at Sandy’s Creations: “I’m a smoothie lover and they make the best smoothies and prawn pasta.”

Living in Lusaka, she says, is “busy, but not Joburg-busy. People are a bit more laid back here, and our industries are not as aggressive, but there are a lot of entrepreneurs. Because of the lack of jobs, everyone is trying to do something on their own. As a friend of mine in the fashion industry here says, the beauty of being here is that you can be the first. Whether you’re the first wedding planner or one of the first Zambian YouTubers or international television presenters, there is a lot of scope.”

Asked where she learnt to be a TV presenter, she says it started at Wits, where she volunteered for a small Christian TV station. “I’m interested in broadcast journalism and I love travelling, so in October 2018 I combined both when I enrolled for a one-month course in broadcast journalism at the New York Film Academy.” During her stay Tehillah visited the 9/11 memorial and says it had a profound impact on her. “I met people who were

there, who had lost someone or been covered by the smog that descended on the city.”

She says she learnt a lot at the film academy. “Even if you don’t have the equipment, you can use your smartphone. It’s all about starting with what you have and life will meet you there,” says Tehillah, whose life is taking her all over the world. Just before going to New York she was in Geneva at the World Economic Forum headquarters, representing Zambia at the Global Shapers Annual Summit.

An initiative of the World Economic Forum, Global Shapers is a network of people under the age of 30, working together to address local, regional and global challenges. With more than 7 000 members, the Global Shapers Community includes 369 citybased hubs in 171 countries. In each city, teams of Shapers self-organise to create projects that address the needs of their community.

She says the highlight of the summit was when she moderated the flagship session with the Director General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Michael Møller.

In Lusaka, Tehillah is involved in a range of community projects, one of which is Menstruation Matters. “The price of pads is very high in Zambia, so we distribute them for free to girls who cannot afford them and our hub members in the medical field talk to the girls about menstruation and the importance of a good education.

“In my home language, Bemba, there is a saying, Upamfiwe, ewulwa ne chibi, which loosely translated means ‘the person with a need is the one who should do the running around’. In other words, you need to be proactive to get what you need and to go after your dreams. And that’s what I did at Wits. I am so thankful to Wits for the education and for the Postgraduate Merit Award I received. I stayed in Wits Junction during my honours year; I loved it, I made treasured friends there, including South Africans, Zambians and Malawians, and I loved having my own space, with a beautiful view overlooking Johannesburg.”

By Heather Dugmore