Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo says there are currently no ‘political prisoners’ but ‘political suspects’ in the correctional centres.
Mr Kampyongo said there are no political prisoners that are detained for various criminal charges and offences at some remand prisons.
He told Parliament in a ministerial statement today that government will not condone lawlessness in the country.
The Minister said government will not politicise the unfolding political happenings but thoroughly investigate such cases.
“Mr. Speaker sir, there are currently no political prisoners but political suspects in our correctional facilities in the country,” the Minister said.
On violence, the Home Affairs Minister said during the post August 2016 general elections, police recorded 50 political cases in nature.
Mr. Kampyongo said violence accounted for 76 percent (%) in three provinces namely Central, Lusaka and Southern provinces respectively.
He said Southern accounted for 40 percent of the political violence in the country, Central (26%) and Lusaka province 10 percent.
Mr Kampyongo, however, could not state the breakdown of the political affiliation of those detained but simply responded, they came in confrontation with the law.
The Minister appealed to political party leaders to provide the necessary leadership qualities and steer their members away from trouble.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kampyongo has said the country is stable and peaceful and business is being conducted in a good atmosphere.
The Minister said police and other law enforcement agencies are enforcing the law and there is absolute order in Zambia.
“Mr. Speaker Sir, the country is stable and peaceful. Business is booming as usual and conducted in good atmosphere,” Mr. Kampyongo said.
The ministerial statement was marred with mixed feelings especially among opposition parliamentarians who accused government and the PF members of arbitrary violating human rights of citizens.
SICK BONEHEAD!!
Thats the problem when you have a clueless President in office. He appoints this THUG on the back of Chimpyongo twice attempting to bring down helicopters carrying opposition leaders. This Dagga smoking ex- Illegal forex dealer is not fit for purpose, let alone leading a strategic ministry like Defence.
Zambia will be turned in to a warzone by this mickey mouse, but Dangerous Clown excuse for a minister.
Those are criminals eg mwaliteta. Good lesson god hh and his satanists
What kind of Ministerial Statement is this? very shallow and lacks merit. Anyway expecting serious and mature statements in Parliament from people like Kampyongo, Bowman, Kambwili, Davies Chama etc will be asking for too much looking at their caliber and their level of reasoning. Its only in Zambia where such brains of people i have mentioned above among others can be addressed as “Honorable” and be allowed near and within Parliament Buildings. Zambia will never move forward economically with such kind of cadre leaders. All the people who are behind bars are from the opposition UPND and you tend to wonder how because it takes two to tangle. Does it mean that only UPND cadres were always at the other side of the law?
Kapyongo is a risky for PF. Why didn’t he let at least Lubinda to define the Lyangandambo of Barotseland and UPND likes of Mwaliteta.
What is the definition of a political suspect? My ‘suspicion’ is that the constitution covers the rights you are wilfully abusing. I guess ED2.0 is going with it takes a criminal to catch a criminal and thus the CV of the one put in charge of law breakers is to get one of the worst as top dog. Except for… there is no interest in catching law breakers as that would require self arrest. Political suspect. Disgraceful, immature and illegal. Call it by its real name. Oppression. Epic fail of a statement.
I have never any cruel government detain and charge any one for supporting a political party. Most political prisoners are detained on trumped charges. This is exactly what Kapyongo did to most UPND supporters.
Kapyongo behaves like Mnangagwa of Mugabe’s ZANU – PF regime. He is violent man who deserves to be jailed end of.
PF is the most violent party in history of Zambia.
Ka fimo fimo, you are talking about innocent Zambians who haven’t stolen like yourselves. Family members who are parents with children at home suffering because of this kangaroo imprisonment. You guys are taking Zambian citizens for granted.
Free the Zambians please.
Iwe na Lungu, ebako abalume bobe ati baitaya apa before it”a too late.
Can somebody bring back the Zambian watchdog so that these UPND supporters can leave the Lusakatimes website for people who voted for PF (50.4%)
KAMPYONGO, WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY POLITICAL SUSPECTS? THE FACT THAT THOSE P[EOPLE HAVE BEEN JAILED FOR EXERCISING THEIR POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES AND RIGHTS, IT SIMPLY MEANS THAT THOSE 2000 OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS ARE POLITICAL PRISONERS INDEED. TIME WILL SOON JUDGE LUNGU’S REGIME.
Let me warn you Kampyongo. There is absolutely nothing under the sun that lasts forever. What you and your PF did on 11th August, 2016 and what followed there on, is unpardonable. By your leader’s breaking the Constitution, which he swore to defend under oath, is UNPARDONABLE. Governments may come and go but eventually, we shall find one government that will give us a listening ear and Mr Edgar Lungu and the rest of you Ministers will be taken to court for breaking the Constitution and stealing our money unless you die but even then you will steal go to jail posthumously. Please yourselves now but I bet you Kampyongo, time is coming for us to laugh the loudest.
Hon Minister, the truth is we have PF cadres who committed similar acts before, during and after the elections are roaming the streets freely. whilst i don’t condone violence by anyone, PF have taken partisan application of the rule of law to another level. your bias is too gross to be ignored. be it in in the application of the POA, ZNBC and other public media etc its pathetic and yet we have people supporting such! PF and UPND will one day go but the rule of law must be respected by all including UPND and PF. what i see is like a 2 boys seated on a table, Boy PF starts kicking boy UPND underneath the table where no one sees; when boy UPND cries foul on top of the table, boy PF says he has done nothing and therefore boy UPND must be shamed and mocked for playing victim and running…
What is HONORABLE about Kapyongo for God’s sake. The guy is a disgrace, you are the people who make them erect their short souls.
How many political suspects have been speedly brought to court? As long as they remain in so called correctional facilities, they qualify to be referred to as polical prison ers. Other provinces would also have recorded political prisoners if the Shiwan’gandu PF thugs had been arrested, if the kasama PF thugs who harassed Mrs GBM and her daughter Sibongile had been arrested, if the PF thugs in Sinda eastern province had been arrested. ……I could go on and on
You must be reacting out of emotion which is a typical syndrome of unpd. A prisoner is a convicted person while a suspect is detained person until proven innocent.
@Zibwidi,two months without being brought to court? What type of suspect is that? PF are imprisoning UPND members without going to court. How long had Mwaliteta been in prison?
Mwaliteta is going in 10 years for aggravated robbery….
What about Messrs Afumba Mombotwa, likando pelekelo, Sylvester Kalima and many other Barotseland freedom fighters that currently languishing at Mwenbeshi and other zambian prisons – if they are not political prisoners, what are they? What is a political prisoner, anyway, from your definition, Kampyongo?
What freedom fighters, what freedom are they fighting for?
This is the PROBLEM OF APPOINTING ZEALOTS to SENSITIVE POSITIONS OF PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY! What does Kampyongo MEAN by POLITICAL SUSPECTS? Does it mean IF CONVICTED THEY WILL BECOME POLITICAL PRISONERS?? This guy may be intelligent and “hardworking” for PF but TOO FAR OFF TO BE IN-CHARGE OF MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS!! You DONT NEED HOT HEADS AT THAT MINISTRY but SOBER and LEGAL CONSCIOUS PERSONS! He has created a ROPE to HANG HIMSELF bcoz once convicted,”HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS” will go ballistic DEMANDING “RELEASE OF THE NOW POLITICAL PRISONERS”. I always thought the UPND supporters were arrested for CRIMINAL ACTS RATHER THAN THEIR POLITICAL CONVICTIONS!!
You have detained innocent people leaving Max Chongo scot free. You constituency on 2 ocassions stoned opposition helicopters and chakolwa lungusha pays you by giving you suc a sensitive ministry. Even your appearance you look like a kaponya.
Mr Minister you say police will not condone lawlessness, yet PF is free to stand unannounced solidarity marches, grab land and threaten the average citizen. Are you blinded by the comforts of the office?
Anyway, it’s Dununa Reverse!
I’ll just play Ostrich Head and bury my head in the sand. Let things fly above me. Mmmmmmm, well that’s not a bad strategy, but it is not the best in the face of open confrontation.
This is true! Zambia is a beacon of peace in Africa! We only have hooligans masquerading as political prisoners! We have no political prisoners. If Nevers, Hazalusa Hagain and GBM go in, they will go in for other cases other than “Political prisoners” a tag they want to use to bring anarchy to Zambia! Namwala thugs, we shall never forget!
KEEP ON CHEATING YOURSELVES WHILE ON THE GROUND IS A DIFERENT STORY ALL TOGETHER. 40% IN SOUTHERN PROVINCE y? YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN SHIWANG’ANDU TWICE AND KASAMA. NW PROVINCE THIS TIME PF NEVER CAME IN BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE GEARED TO KILL AND FIGHT FOR THIER RIGHT EVEN NOW THEY WANT TO SEE PF FINISHED BECAUSE THEY ARE CRIMINAL ROBBERS WHO HAVE STOLEN FROM THEM AND DEVELOPED MUCHINGA. LUNGU SHALL NEVER BE THEIR TO ADDRESS THE DUSTY, WINDY AND MUDDY PLACE.
LT, don’t twist statements like the Past news. I watched the ministerial statement on TV. Hon Kampyongo did say that there are political suspects. He said that “there are people facing various criminal offences in our correctional centres”.
Now if those criminals are UPND supporters it’s their choice to be locked up by committing crimes. When you commit a criminal offence of course it is the duty of the police to “jata” you and lock you up so that the rest of us law abiding citizens can go about our business and enjoy our human rights. As UPND knows, under the laws of Zambia you surrender your human rights the moment you are arrested for committing a crime. You have to wait until forever to come and change the constitution to classify crime as human rights…..sorry that is the…
As UPND knows, under the laws of Zambia you surrender your human rights the moment you are arrested for committing a crime. You have to wait until forever to come and change the constitution to classify crime as human rights…..sorry that is the law of civilisation. So now Zambia police when are you locking up that election loser turned criminal? And his fat tutor?
TERRIBLE. HOW COME CRIMINALS LIKE MAX CHONGO ARE WALKING FREE? HOW COME ANY PF THAT WAS ARRESTED IS WALKING FREE? DO YOU MEAN ZAMBIA IS A DIVIDED STATE WHERE THE RULING PARTY AND IT S CADRES CONTROL AND GET AWAY FREE FOR MALPRATICES AND MISDEMENOURS?
I mean the businessman turned criminal?
I remember how HH and Mmembe used boast during campaigns that the entire ZP were all Upnd. Remember that photo in the Post?
HH GBM Inc. are playing to the gallery. Why can’t these yoyos move separately, say one in Monze and the other in Chipata. Or they don’t trust each other?
The clueless leadership of PFools ,how dare are they to appoint such a mediocre kind of a minister in the name of Kapyango instead of appointing the real chipyango. Kapyango is a criminal who wanted to bring down the helicopter carrying opposition leaders. kapyango is the most violent cadre in the history of Zambian politics. Under kapyango you will see a lot of people especially journalists rotting in prisons.
I can’t wait for the court proceedings to commence for which Mwaliteta and others have been detained and to hear what charges they would be slapped with.PF,you managed to get the results that you wanted from the elections so free those people who were only trying to protect their hard-earned votes so that you can continue ransacking this country in peace. I really liked Edgar Lungu before he took over the late Sata but now…….Rupiah Banda was also something else but I would not be wrong to say he was better.
THIS MATTER IS TOO SENSITIVE TO EVEN BRINGING IT OUT IN THE MANNER KAMPYONGO DOES ISN’T THE BEST A MINISTER CAN DO. YOU ARE TRADING ON VERY THIN ICE. ON THE OTHER HAND, HOW LONG IS A SUSPECT EXPECTED TO BE DETAINED? I BELIEVE THERE IS A STIPULATED PERIOD
All UPND bloggers above are criminals.
Go and get them out if you are so compassionate iwe ka NGO upnd.bebeni baleke ubupuba nabakula.
@ufo ee mwandi it is true all upnd bloggers are******** chishinka.nizoona.
PF must at any time watch the issue of political prisoners very lightly, because doing this will bring a lot of ills to the economy of the country. Mind you IMF is wholly run by the West and the conditions are very clear from that part of the world. Unless LUNGU your President really continue to beg from CHINA, otherwise he will be shocked that the west may promise but money will not be forth coming. Ask KK, he has a very good story to tell. EU did the verification of August 11 2016 results and have the answer which most of the PF clones feel KUPOLOMYA when they hear them. I can tell you that there will be continuos KU POLOMYA for the next 5 years instead of you enjoying your assumed win. Barotseland issue is still fresh in the international community, check how LUNGU was rediculed in the…
People of God let us pray, It won’t be long these Egyptians you see following God’s people will be no more. Let them persecute innocent people God is not asleep they will be swallowed in the Red Sea soon.
IGNORANCE AND TYRANNY AT ITS WORST! KAMPYONGO HOW DO YOU IMPRISON SUSPECT, IS THAT CORRECT LEGALLY? WHEN YOU IMPRISONED THOSE BAROTSELAND LEADERS FOR 10 YEARS YOU DID IT TO THEM AS SUSPECTS! YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED AND OUR DAY OF COMPLETE FREEDOM FROM RUBBISH ZAMBIA ARE COMING.
This is what happens when you have dogs masquerading as leaders, they cannot see what humans around the world are seeing, all they do is protect the bones they stole from the neighbours’ house.