The Deterioration of Human Rights and Rule Of Law Under the Watch Of The Zambia Police

By Kelvin Mambwe, PhD General Secretary, UNZALARU

The University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers’ Union (UNZALARU) is appalled at the deteriorating situation of human rights of citizens at the hands of the Zambia Police Service. We note that the Zambia Police Service is an institution whose legal mandate is to ensure security to all citizens and uphold their human rights as enshrined in Zambia’s Constitution. We are equally concerned with the Patriotic Front Government’s reticence whenever the Police are involved in harassing and brutalising innocent citizens. We are left to wonder whether the actions of the Police represent the actions of Government or that the Government does not simply care about the rights of its citizens. 

All citizens deserve to be treated with dignity regardless of their ethnicity and political affiliation. Yet the Zambia Police Service appear to have divided Zambians into two sets of citizens; those who belong to the PF and those who do not and more especially those who belong to the opposition political parties. The Police have given a blind eye and rendered a deaf ear to blatant violence and inciting of violence on clear video footage by the PF. However, the same Zambia Police Service is swift to attack or hunt after ordinary citizens, human rights activists, and opposition political party leaders and cadres on the flimsiest of suspicions and sometimes on what appears concocted suspicions. 

UNZALARU finds the violent and selective application of the law by Government and the attendant actions of the Zambia Police Service disturbing and a matter of concern for every well-meaning Zambian. We wish to refer the nation to the recent specific actions in which Police violently manhandled and embarrassed the persons of Mrs. Carol Kambwili and her daughter Ms Chanda Kambwili in full view of the public. This incident did not only alarm us but raised serious questions on the ability of the Police to protect citizens, treat them humanely and with dignity even if found on the wrong side of the law.
These recent actions reminded us of the police brutality against unarmed students in their hostels at the University of Zambia in 2018 which led to the unforgettable death of Vespers Shimuzhila, whom the university community continues to mourn to this day. The same Police is responsible for the death of a young pupil by the name of Frank Mugala, nephew of the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, whose life was suddenly cut short by people entrusted with his security. The Human Rights Commission’s investigations have found the Zambia Police Service responsible for these two totally avoidable losses of lives of innocent learners at the hands of law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, the list of such incidents keeps rising unabated. This is what is worrisome.

We therefore wish to express our utmost condemnation on the continued and increasing disregard of human rights by the Zambia Police Service and by the Ministry of Home Affairs that is supposed to oversee actions of the police. UNZALARU strongly feels that the Zambia Police are being abused by those in Government as a tool to settle political scores against perceived opponents and as a way of intimidating citizens as we approach the general elections in 2021. 

While UNZALARU appreciates the hostile environment under which the Zambia Police Service are operating which favours errant and overzealous officers over professional and ethical ones who are in constant fear of transfers and retirement in ‘national interest’. We call upon them to remain professional as they serve the nation. We further urge them to always restrain themselves from acting outside the law whenever they are dealing with citizens, especially those seen to have dissenting voices. They must strictly adhere to the highest professional standards and not succumb to undue pressure from government officials or political cadres. The Zambia Police Service command and Government should be worried about the widespread loss of public confidence in the Service which may very easily and swiftly turn into public hostility and mob injustice as well as we witnessed during the spate of gassing incidents across the country recently.

The Zambia Police Service has now, more than ever, the mammoth task of ensuring human rights and law and order. They must therefore not be in the forefront of the rights violations and anarchy we have witnessed so far. We would like to urge all well-meaning citizens, members of our civil society, and international human rights bodies to add their voices against the scourge of police brutality and partiality and not wait until themselves or someone close and dear to them becomes a victim. Injustice against one is injustice against all.

This article originally appeared on Lusaka Times