FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMMUTATION OF SENTENCES FOR DEATH ROW INMATES BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA MR. EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU
The Human Rights Commission is delighted at the move by His Excellency the President Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu taken to commute the death sentences of 332 death row inmates to life imprisonment.
The commutation is a clear demonstration that President will not depart from the direction taken by his predecessors of the de facto moratorium. In light of this action, the Commission calls upon Government to take the extra step and accede to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which requires State Parties to abolish the death penalty. Further, Zambia needs to domesticate the Option Protocol to ensure that the Judiciary do not continue handing down death sentences as a matter of law.
The Commission reiterates its opposition to the maintenance of the death penalty as submitted to the technical committee on drafting the Zambian Constitution in 2012. Human Rights practice today guides that a rehabilitative approach to criminal offenders should be adopted as opposed to the traditional approaches of retribution, vengeance and punishment under which the death penalty falls.
The Human Rights Commission has repeatedly raised concerns about over-crowding in prisons which exposes inmates to inhumane conditions. It is encouraging to note government’s willingness to address the problem of congestion in prisons. The Commission believes that the legislative and administrative measures announced by the president to address conditions in prisons across the country will go a long way in creating the desired environment for inmates in line with the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners.
ATTACK ON UPND LEADER HAKAINDE HICHILEMA BY PF CADRES
The Human Right Commission condemns in strongest terms the reported violent acts of Patriotic Front (PF) cadres on the Copperbelt Province who forced their way into Icengelo Radio on Wednesday evening to stop a radio programme where the United Party for National Development Party (UPND) President Mr. Hakainde Hichilema was scheduled to speak.
The Commission is disappointed with PF cadres’ attack on Mr. Hakainde Hichilema and interference with Radio Icengelo’s scheduled programme.
It is unfortunate that the cadres have continued to behave violently and conducting themselves in a manner that is inconsistent with the stance taken by His Excellency the President Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s on political violence. For as long as cadres are not punished for these acts, there will be no end to political violence. The Commission calls upon the PF party leadership to translate the commitment to stop political violence in action by sanctioning the cadres behind the attack so that they understand there are no rewards for perpetrating such acts.
Issued by:
Florence Chibwesha
DIRECTOR
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
So cadres will say HRC is stage managing and seeking attention, your true nature will not be hidden from your gullible followers, Mulobezi smoking gun? 2 deaths in Livingstone ati its UPND? Chelston cadres murder ati …? Luangwa cadre muder? …. Maureen and group attacked during campaings ati its fake, they attacked themselves, stage managed, seeking attention, seeking sympathy…… etc etc You can fool some of the people some of the time you cant fool ALL the people ALL the time.
When the police behave like cadres, this is what you get in a nation. I have never seen a nation where the cadres are more powerful than the police. Only in Zambia where useless leaders. At least Musenge has shown leadership. Where are church leaders to condemn PF cadres violent acts?
Ba mayo ba chibwesha, you r talking to yourself. These pf locusts have violence in their DNA inherited from their mentor sata.
Ba Florence Chibwesha why are you, a woman, silent about the pardoning of rapists like Kanene without allowing for the full process of the law to go full circle? This guy appealed
Even the President is a thug as well image the way he was chosen in Kabwe by raising hands then you think he will denounce violence?
They are failing to address the poor perfoming kwacha,increased malasha, increased load shielding,increased road tax and increased youth unemployment and increased poverty.
Thank God that i did not vote for this useless party with useless leaders.
What about the people killed by these condemned prisoners. So human rights are only the criminals. Wait until you get your close relative killed then you will feel the pain.
Ba mayo Chibwesha. How do you expect the PF leadership to punish their cadres if all the violence that we are expereancing in the country is sponsered by the PF top leadership themsleves. Davis Chama the PF SG and Lukulu DC shot and wounded some UPND members in Mulobezi but have you seen them being arrested. The only solution to this problem is to vote PF out of power before they bring war in the country especially that they have started using Guns.
Mulobezi formula shoot and get the victim arrested……….
Our hard fought democracy is at risk.Where PfLEADERSHIP.sINKING SO LOW BA pF you are really letting us down.
We must always attempt to act civilised. But underlying political illness must be treated. We need less confrontational opposition politics.
What are you implying?
So you are saying, c5 police should stop killing thugs? You see, here we have a problem. And it will be difficult to stop thugs from killing us,,,,,,
This is the result of calling people what they are not. Intolerance in what we call a ‘Christian Nation’ is the order of the day. Where is the hospitality we claim to possess. Some of us just see fear of other races, and disdain and hate for those of same race.
Any sane person would not support kitwe pf cadres barbaric attack on HH and his entourage, it’s silly acts like that can put this nation on fire that even the so called police can fail to quench, emotions are high in the country and it can just take a small match to turn everything upside down, historians will tell you that it only took a stupid lone gunman to assassin a simple mayor and all the built up emotions just blew into the first world War, it’s time for pf executive to tame it’s cadres, am wondering what would happen if this took place in so called UPND strongholds, some people would be in police custody and social media would have been awash with hate speech by pf supporters, just a few weeks ago chanda had branded UPND as a violent party what has he to say about kitwe?