The Coalition for the Defence of Democratic Rights (CDDR) is announcing the launch of a series of online videos displaying evidence of alleged civil and human rights abuses by the current Government of Zambia.
The first video of the series, released today on YouTube and the CDDR website, contains footage of police brutality exercised against opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema and numerous members of the United Party for National Development (UPND) on August 9th 2012, when police fired tear gas canisters indoors, causing a stampede and several injuries.
Mr. Hichilema, as well as other opposition leaders such as Nevers Mumba of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), have faced multiple politically motivated arrests in recent months based on highly questionable grounds as part of a recent campaign of persecution by the Patriotic Front (PF) government.
The videos are being published in support of a recent application presented before the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) requesting an independent investigation into serious and persistent violations by the Zambian government of President Michael Sata and the PF. Following a widely covered press conference held by opposition leaders in Johannesburg on Feb. 12, the Zambian government has cracked down harder, issuing threats and even initiating a controversial bid to strip immunity of former President Rupiah Banda without providing any details of allegations.
Future videos to be released shall address unlawful persecution of the MMD as well as civil society groups, incitement of ethnic violence by individuals such as President Sata and Minister of Justice Wynter Kabimba, and instances of misconduct by Mutembo Nchito, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and Fred M’membe, the owner and editor of the pro-government newspaper, The Post.
The CDDR welcomes anonymous submissions of video evidence of rights violations on its website, whether they are recorded on smart phones, security cameras, or amateur video. The board of directors of CDDR emphasizes that only through high-level exposure can we accomplish our goal of instilling accountability, ending impunity, and returning Zambia to the rule of law.
More information on the CDDR’s activities and the full copy of the Commonwealth Report can be read at http://cddr-zambia.org.
so armsterdan doesn’t have eveidence so he is asking people to give it to him. i thought when they submited their so called abuses to the comnwelth that they included evidence.
According to my knowledge, first you submit complains afterwards you will be given an appointment/hearing is when you can bring on your evidence etc.
@Musoli Muntashi#1
Please, understand legal jargons and you must know how the law is interpreted and applied. The above help which is being offerd at no cost should be treated with high appreciation not to be met with uninformed criticism.
I urge you to seek legal insight into matters such as this particular issue and do not use your own uninformed personal opinions as it definately deviates you away from a nobble goal of CDDR. Your biased opinions obscure your independence and cloud your own judge. Police brutality has always been a huge problem in Zambia and it will continue to worsen as long as it is not curtailed. Both politicians and the general citizenry fall victims to man made mayhem. The PF is ‘fuelling’ the police onslaught on the weak and its political opponents…
I meant to write ‘your own judgement’ not ‘judge’
boom and others. firstly, there is nothing noble about what armsterdan is doing, secondly you dont go submit such grave accusations and call for sanctions if you don’t evidence, third if you think that amsterdan is fighting for u then u are the dumbest person on God’s green earth. where was armsterdan when RB killed lozis? where was he when Sata was teargased? where was he when Sata’s vehicles were taken by the then ACC for over three months without proper reason at and then only to give them back to him without explaination? where was he when RB told donor to hang? where was he when RB threatened diplomats in Zambia? where was he when RB said that he let Chiluba free? since when was the president given powers to decide who should be convicted and who sh’d not?where was he when chiluba
One thing is true for you my dear Zambians, armsyerdam is doing what he’s doing for money and he doesn’t care about you or Zambia, to him only his clients matter. This same armsterdam cannot enter singapore due to his same bahaviour. of course to the UPND and MMD he is a hero, a savior. shame, shame..its a shame that politics is all about power now than serving the people that politicians so commonly purpot to serve or want to serve. there is only one reason for HH, Mumba’s existance, to rule Zambia..politics should be about serving the ppl, we should all desire development for our country with or without us being in power. this will anable us to form an opposition whose many purpose of existance is to serve, not getting into power by any means necessary and making ruling an ultimate…
AS PF YOUTHS WE ARE COLLECTING EVIDENCE OF RBS BRUTALLITY AND WILL SUBMIT IT AS EVIDENCE TO THE SAME COMMONWEALTH REPS, WE SHALL ALSO SUBMIT EVIDENCE OF ABUSES ON SATA BY RB AND MMD WHEN HE WAS IN POWER. WE HAVE ALSO RECORDED PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF VIOLENCE BY UPND IN L/STONE, MAPTIZYA AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AND VIDEO OF THE CADRE WHO WAS KILLED IN EASTERN PROVINCE. THE SAME VIDEOS WILL BE POSTED ON YOUTUBE.THE GAME HAS JUST STARTED.WE SHALL NOT JUST SEAT AND OUR PRESIDENT BEING THESE LIARS SPREAD RUMORS ABOUT OUR MOTHER ZAMBIA
@ REVENGE, I hope you mean what you said on the blog, please do that. Actually organize such evidence, and it’ll show that police brutality started way before PF’s tenure of office.
@Musoli Muntashi#i.5#1.4
My dear brother/sister
A practicing attorney/advocate makes himself/herself available to a situation/person/s when he/she is hired by a client or instructed by an organisation to provide his/her legal services. You put a lot of questions to me and I have addressed your questions at the beginning of this post.
The ‘lozi massacre’, if you like, is a complex issue which happened and the police officers/security officers responded to a situation in which their own lives and those of the citizenry were threatened. The element of self-defence existed there. The element of excessive force has no basis which can be tested rigorously in a court of law unless if the case is tried in a court of public opinion.
Amsterdam is like any attorney,his services must be paid…
@Chanda#1.7
The process of collecting evidence has so many setbacks and, it is not as simple as it looks on face value. The redtape behind the entire process will turn you and your ‘evidence’ on your head. In a lay man’s language this informs that the possibility of tempering with evidence/manipulating it, is very strong. Further, evidence can be contaminated or it can be insufficient. Granted this picture, it will be very, very difficult for inexperienced half-baked PF’s entire structure which is susceptible to mediocrity and falsehoods to build dossiers which can tested at a high court level or before the Hague.
You can collect as much ‘evidence’ as possible, but the question are, is what you intend to collect, admissible? Or can it be correctly defined as evidence by clever…
sometimes i find it hard to respond to people who choose to ignore facts and decide to lie in order to mislead, misinform or simply an atempt to sound clever. boom, where and when did the element of delf defence ever was the case in western province? those people did not have guns, they had nothing, some were even shot from places far from which the meeting was suppose to take place. a police officer with gun cannot shoot a person with a stick in the head and clame self defence, you shoot in the leg. r u also suggeting that only evidence submited bt amsterdam would be valid enough? are u saying that the Zambian government is incapable of carrying out an investigation? a lawyer’s duty is to defend his client, but amsterdam isnt defending RB but attacking Zambia as a country huge difference
I hope someone will also post a video, newspaper cuttings etc. of MMD cadres beating up Richard Kachingwe at Nevers Mumba’s home. How about Nevers Mumba at State House gate harrasing the security personnel to let him in……! This is getting interesting.
Malabishi aya. These will not succeed. Zambia is bigger than these id io ts!
Cacine we cana Zamba is bigger than HH.Let him complain to the commonwealth,UN if he continues to misbehave to police will move in.After all he wants to use the mapaziya formula and then we let him scot free.Come on guys be realistic.No matter what youe commonwealth will SATA is still the president and he deal with you appropriately.Viva pf
thank you CDDR..you are working..
It must be stated without exception that abuses wherever and whenever they happen must be exposed and the perpetrators made to account.
Looking at the video, and there is nothing suggestive of arbitrary, excessive or abuse of authority by the police.
The UPND leadership in the video appear calm, happy and content with their rowdy and disruptive cadres.
The police officers’ plea to move the unruly cadres outside yielded nothing positive.
In this case, teargas was used as a last resort for crowd control. Unless there is something else that had not been shown in the video, there was no any other way the police were going to persuade the cadres to leave voluntarily.
Further, the caption on the video is grossly misleading.
Lets be serious and not just attention seekers.
If CDDR serious, they should be posting videos of ALL ABUSES…..like MMD cadres beating up Richard Kachingwe at Nevers Mumba’s house; Nevers Mumba trying to force his way into State House and in the process harrasing Security Personnel; How about expulsion of opposition MPs from their Parties for being appointed to serve as Ministers/Deputy Ministers which is in line with the Country’s Constitution? We shall see who laughs last!
Well the evidence will provide the International Community insight to the allegations, but the fact that Mr. Amstedam is an outsider and has never stepped on the Zambian soil might make the evidence suspectable and his case not water tight. How far is the compilation of the list of pipo UPND want to submit to ICC? Perhaps this might be more credible as it’ll be coming from Zambians themselves.
So Amsterdam is now head of operations for the UPND, ULP and MMD???? Mr. Amsterdam, are you also accepting high resolution videos of killings in Mongu in early 2011, I can easily supply those!! What about the violence in Chongwe where a PF cadre was killed in cold blood by cadres of some known political Party, are they also admissible??? I could also supply you another one entitled the Mapatizya formula, dating back to 2006 but the method is still valid and being employed, that would make very good publicit on you-tube for you!!
By the way who is heading this CDDR, is it you Mr. Amsterdam and Presidents HH, Nevers and Saki are under your supervision??? You really a powerful British, ai?????
Please furnish evidence to substantiate your allegations. Recall that anyone can concoct those allegations against anyone without a shred of evidence. Any court of law can/will view your insinuations as inadmissible evidence on the premise that they luck hard evidence. According to rule of evidence, unthourised recorded evidence is not acceptable/or is open to various legal arguments which in most probabilities lead to the acquittal of the accused person/s. Note that such material evidence can be tempered with or contaminated. If it is authourised by the state/or a judge, say if detectives want to trap criminals, then recorded evidence cannot be contested in a court of law. Read more about the expanded version of rule of evidence about recorded evidence. Thank you.
i have a couple of some videos we collected using our smartphone, we will drop them to u usin this media
I have just been seeing the video and am very disappointed that the CDDR would sink so low to even post such poorly done fake skirmishes. We have seen human violations in the world. Compared to this one can safely say HH and his friends are but just a bunch of losers. Even in the USA the police would tear gas unruly characters. You do not just get to the police station and exhibit such type of behaviour. Anyway time will soon tell for HH and Nevers Mumba. The more they dramatise issues the less popular they shall become.
@Pamela, you cannot be comparing EU to Africa my friend. If you have been away for 20 years, then you have no clue what happens in Zambia. Prices have always been high in all previous governments. It is bitter grapes for people like HH who thought Sata would not win.
Hope the videos include the UPND cadres attacking the police and HH insulting Sata.They should include the beating of moaners in Livingstone by UPND cadres as well.
In what are you interested? Freedom for Zambians or just to be against HH &UPND? Be reflective on this matters, you might be outside Zambia like me am safe in the EU for 20years am now here but I have people in Zambia and things are fine there,people are suffering, have no rights. Some people needs enlightenment HERE, this isn’t about HH,BUT ZAMBIANS
GOOD EDUCATION IS NOW AN ITEM,PRICES ARE HIGH, Zambia has social problems which need to be adressed too immediately, education isn’t bringing out what it should producing critical thinkers…….
This is the sponsor of the SA trip the Mailoni brothers went to do kuichaila. At we now have two right thinking opposition politicians in Milupi and Chipimo. the Mailoni brothers can sell this country for a song. Some of them have already participated in the reaping from privitasation proceeds.
Another video is with Rupiah killing the innocent Zambians from Barotseland, teargassing Sata and Mpombo at DEC offices, Mapatizya formula. The rest ask MMD Chris chalwe and Banda William.
IT SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE THE LOZI’S WHO WHERE SHORT IN COLD BLOOD BY RB’S GOVERNMENT, UNDER RB’S COMMAND.
Ok mwa landa ichi shinka nomba bushe ni “short”?
ALSO THE BEATING OF MAGANDE BY THE MMD
AND THE BEATING OF SATA AND THE CATHOLIC FATHERS AT RADIO ICENGELO BY MMD.
Another ‘Stand Up For Zambia’!
Another violation, the beating and dragging of Major Richard Kachingwe by MMD Mumba youths.
AND WHO ORGANIZED THE BEATING OF MAJOR KACHINGWE
PASTOR BE REAL
ARE YOU STILL WAITING FOR GOD TO REMOVE THE LOG IN YOUR EYE?
PF THUGS ORGANIZED!
These chaps doing it the wrong way, does UPND and MMD really have the citizenery behind them.? are the ordinary people who vote for the respective parties agree with the opposition.? clearly the answer is NO…these opposition chaps are just trying to shield themselves because they cases to answer. Guys wake up HH and Mumba are up to no good.
I agree with you completely!
Teargas is used all over the world. It is manufactured by the western countries where this new white mailoni brother comes from. To send a video to CW showing police dispersing drunk hooligans the mailoni brother took to the police when he was summoned is just sheer pathetic. We can do better. This whole issue is about the iminent loss of immunity of one Bwezani. White Mailoni brother knows that his client is not clean hence the desparate moves he is coming up with and the brothers just blindly follow him. What a shame.
There is overwhelming evidence of human rights abuse by PF Sata govt which will not pause difficulties to aduce. What should worry Zambians is this abuse scandal record is now circulating to all international bodies. A dent caused by selfish people who think they can abuse Zambians with impunity just because they are in power. To claim PF Sata suffered same fate while in opposition is a wild allegation by those who are guilty of their actions. MMD record on the international stage is clean and handed power to PF Sata. Sata never raised anything against MMD to the international community and will be seen as lies for Sata to claim today when in power.
Walasa!!!!!!
If it is evidence you want, you will surely get it. All the abuses of MMD in power are on record. just watch this space!
Why are you mourning PF cadres? Is there somebody you know who has died? Well I think you are now feeling the pressure. If the actions that have now been taken by concerned Zambians were of no consequence you wouldnt be emotionally charged and overly exercised like you are now. Be rest assured your dictatorship will be fought with a every tool and by all means necessary. We wont let you take Zambia to the dark ages. Winning an election is not a passport to trample on other peoples rights. Democracy is an every day activity not something that occurs every 5 years! Hence it does not make sense for you to stop the opposition from exercising their rights. Please stop your dictatorial ways! You are an embarassement to the country. Zambia deserves better!
You may talk about your democracies day in day out but the mandate to rule is enshrined in Sata.No matter what you say guys remember Sata is in charge.
@Fchibs, you’re very shallow. This way beyond your station!
This has potential to back fire for both UPDN and MMD, it might even be worse for them than SATA’s un fulfilled promises.
Please also show in on CNN
DEAR BLOGGERS
AS PF YOUTHS WE ARE COLLECTING EVIDENCE OF RBS BRUTALLITY AND WILL SUBMIT IT AS EVIDENCE TO THE SAME COMMONWEALTH REPS, WE SHALL ALSO SUBMIT EVIDENCE OF ABUSES ON SATA BY RB AND MMD WHEN HE WAS IN POWER. WE HAVE ALSO RECORDED PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF VIOLENCE BY UPND IN L/STONE, MAPTIZYA AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AND VIDEO OF THE CADRE WHO WAS KILLED IN EASTERN PROVINCE. THE SAME VIDEOS WILL BE POSTED ON YOUTUBE.THE GAME HAS JUST STARTED.WE SHALL NOT JUST SEAT AND OUR PRESIDENT BEING THESE LIARS SPREAD RUMORS ABOUT OUR MOTHER ZAMBIA
Photographic material showcasing police brutality may have the unintended effect of hardening police officers. Policing a modern State is not simple. The use of force is oftentimes unavoidable. Each country must respond according to the means available. It will not do to imitate rich countries for the sake of imitating and appearing clever. I am recommending the partnership between police and community along the lines of Neighborhood Watch. This approach must not be reserved for Zambia alone. It ought to apply everywhere, including countries like China, South Africa and Mali.
12 th february Zambians were mourning the Chibombo bus victims and HH and Pastor Nervous were busy protecting their selfish ambitions SHAME SHAME.No wonder they never passed any condolences to the families affected.We were mourning and these guys were busy sipping mineral water.
Why didn’t you collect that for RB when he was in power? You have no evidence mwana.
To answer your question, the motives of PF is ONE PARTY COMAND. I am pleased to be witnessing something being done to come back to democracy. Chiza uli?
INDEED THESE ARE MAILONI BROTHERS,RB,HH ,SEKWILA AND SIKOTA.SHAME ON U CRIMINALS. PF COMRADES LIKE @REVANGE WE MUST DO ANYTHING 2 ENSURE DAT DESE UNPATRIOTIC ZEDIAN DON’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. DESE ARE EVIL INDEED LOOKING AT HOW DEY CAN TELL FALSEHOOD
The guilty are always afraid. You can see how PF supporters are panicking! Trying to defend in everyway they can think of. It is there for everyone to see that the opposition are now endangered species under PF government. They cant move around at the markets, They cant hold rallies, they cant visit chiefs, they are accused of violence during by-elections. The Bemba language is being forced down the throats of Zambians. Was GOD foolish to create other tribes? We now dont know wether Zambia is still a christian nation or not, not to mention dictorial tendencies being exhibited by the president. The list is endless. The president should repent as an individual because there are no presidents in hell.
Misrule is a SIN. lying to GOD’s people that he will rule by 10 commandments is a SIN. GOD live within people and when you lie in public and being watched by the whole world is an unforgiven SIN
I would like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this blog. I’m hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. Actually your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings fast. Your write up is a great example of it.