The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: 10 Years of Democratic Freedoms And Human Rights Under The PF

Democracy is classed a “set of constitutional rules and procedures that determine how a government functions.”

After gaining independence from Britain in 1964, Zambia was a beacon of hope for democracy on the continent, especially with regards to rule of law, personal freedoms and the human rights of its citizens.

In spite of this, since the Patriotic Front (PF) came to power in 2011, the country has seen a dramatic shift away from the democratic freedoms and human rights its citizens once knew.

Freedom of Expression

Article 20 of The Zambian constitution protects the rights of citizens to hold their own opinions and express them freely without government interference.

Under the rule of the PF, sadly, the right to freedom of expression has not always been protected, with a recent report from Amnesty International concluding that the country has “experienced a systematic erosion of the right to freedom of expression in the past five years.”

Amnesty’s International Director for East and Southern Africa Deprose Muchena has observed that “opposition leaders, journalists, media houses and activists have all been targeted, and speaking out against allegations of government corruption or abuse has become more dangerous.”

Citizens

Both individually and collectively, citizens in Zambia have had their right to freedom of expression restricted.

Most recently this right has been suppressed under the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act which was passed earlier this year. The act was implemented under the quise of protecting internet users against cyber crime. However, a lack of clarity within the bill enables the government to listen to private conversations in full at any time.

Chapter One Foundation, an organisation which promotes and protects human rights, voiced their concern that the implementation of the Act will enable government to “intimidate and even prosecute members of the public who air their opinions on online platforms.”

Showing support for the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has also landed a number of individuals in terrifying situations. On the 23rd December 2020, UPND President Hakainde Hichilema appeared before police to be questioned about his legal acquisition of farmland. After gathering to express their solidarity for towards the UPND President, two opposition supporters were fatally wounded by police gunfire. One of the individuals was simply on his way to buy a snack when he was shot dead.

Individual citizens are also at risk of random prosecution for simply expressing themselves. For example, on 9th March 2020 a 15-year-old boy in Kapiri Mposhi was arrested by police and subsequently charged with three counts of criminal libel after allegedly criticizing President Lungu on Facebook. Over a year later and the boy is still awaiting trial.

Media

Following the forced closure of the country’s largest private newspaper, The Post, in 2016, media outlets have been intimidated and harassed by regulators on the alleged basis of violating broadcasting rules.

In April 2020 the government revoked the broadcasting license of Prime TV. No specific reason was given for the decision other than the Independent Broadcasting Association stating that it was in the interest of the general public for the decision to be made.

Radio stations have also been the victims of violence by PF cadres. In May 2020 PF cadres invaded Isoka radio after finding out that Hakainde Hichilema was carrying out a live interview at the station. They took over the radio station and demanded that the programme be cancelled, in an attempt to control political messages in the country. As the cadres became more violent, police fired tear gas canisters at the radio station. However, this left journalists and staff gasping for air.

Politicians

Under the watchful eye of the PF government, the leader of the opposition Hakainde Hichilema has been subject to continuous restrictions on his right to freedom of expression, having been wrongfully imprisoned 14 times over the space of just 4 years.

Other opposition parties have also had their right to freedom of expression removed. In 2019 Sean Tembo, the leader of the Patriots for Economic Progress (PEP), was arrested and charged with defamation for questioning the purchase of a US$400 million presidential jet whilst the country went through a national debt crisis.

To add, in 2017 Saviour Chishimba, the leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), was arrested and detained for several days after criticising the government’s decision to invoke a state of emergency in response to several arson attacks in Lusaka.

Freedom of Assembly

Article 21 of the Zambian constitution protects the right to form or be part of a political party or any other association or voluntary group.

In spite of this, the PF have repeatedly issued threats against those who have spoken openly about disagreeing with the work which the government carry out.

Amnesty International have reported on this recently, saying that “In June, the President issued threats against members of civil society organisations and anyone else who planned to protest against infringements of their rights to their freedom of expression.” The President supposedly called on the Minister of Home Affairs to “deal with these boys” as they were apparently causing “anarchy” in the country.

In spite of this, the PF continues to deploy cadres to carry out acts of violence and other intimidating tactics against UPND supporters in a bid to continue to disrupt their peaceful assemblies.

For example, Amnesty International reported that Patriotic Front cadres attacked mourners at UPND member Clance Zulu’s burial in 2017. The burial, which was held at Memorial park, was attended by a number of UPND supporters who were forced to abandon the body of the late UPND member to ensure their own safety as PF cadres viciously attacked them. The majority of the attackers received no punishment by the police.

Right to Health

Over recent years the current government have provided a questionable health service to the population. Earlier this year, the government supplied a $17 million healthcare contract to HoneyBee pharmacy, whose supplies were found to be unsafe for use after laboratory testing was conducted. In spite of this, the government ploughed on with awarding the contract to the company, threatening the lives of its citizens who would come into contact with these products in the process.

The government have also struggled to provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to its healthcare workers to protect them from COVID-19. Some healthcare workers in high-risk regions received no PPE at all, causing them to contract the virus. Only last month, two young doctors working on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic at Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital died within a week of each other due to lack of PPE.

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