Police Disproportionately Target UPND Meetings - CCMG

The Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) has released data showing that police in Zambia disproportionately disrupt or attack political rallies hosted by the United Party for National Development, compared to any of the other major parties.

CCMG steering committee chairperson Fr Emmanuel Chikoya said that since the campaign period began, five party meetings had been disrupted by police for unspecified reasons. Of these meetings, four were hosted by the UPND. 

He also noted that of the seven meetings suspended by police for Covid-19 reasons, six were UPND events. 

In particular Fr Chikoya said he was concerned about incidents involving excessive force, where either tear gas or bullets were fired at civilians. Such measures, he said, have been directed elusively against the UPND, except for one occasion where both the UPND and Patriotic Front were involved.

The CCMG chair cited one such incident in Ndola, where UPND president Hakainde Hichilema attempted to attend a funeral for a fallen party member but was blocked by police. He also recalled with regret the events of June 6th when HH’s convoy was fired upon with live ammunition as he attempted to make his way to a church service in Chingola. 

“All of these actions by the police contributed to the limiting of campaign space for political parties,” Fr Chikoya observed. 

The CCMG also accused the government of ‘missing an opportunity’ when it came to sensitising the population towards Covid-19 and enforcing mask wearing. Fr Chikoya said that when Covid-19 restrictions lift, political rallies should be allowed to go ahead, with attendants encouraged to disinfect themselves beforehand and wear masks. 

Contrastingly, he said that door-to-door roadshows were probably not a good idea because of the likelihood of carrying the virus from house to house. 

Finally the CCMG noted its concern over the ‘unbalanced media coverage of candidates’ in the lead up to August’s elections. Fr Chikoya referenced a report by MISA Zambia highlighting bias in the public media towards the Patriotic Front.  He called on the ECZ to urgently abide by a recent court order to ensure public media allocate equal access to all parties and candidates.

“Access to media in the electoral process is important because it helps to a greater extent level the playing field in the light of restricted physical campaign activities as a result of Covid-19,” he said.