The Human Rights Commission says it is deeply concerned at the reported detention of Loveness Katongo Mwale, the wife to the Police Officer who is alleged to have shot dead his colleague in Lusaka and is on the run.
Commission spokesperson Mwelwa Muleya says the relatives to Ms. Mwale complained to the Commission that she was brutally apprehended by Police Officers in three vehicles on Friday 11th January 2019 and taken to Chelston Police Station where she was detained.
Mr. Muleya said the Commission has also received disturbing reports from Ms. Mwale’s relatives that she has allegedly been tortured and was being denied access to medication and that relatives did not know her whereabouts since Saturday 12th January 2019 when she was last seen in detention at Chelston Police Station in Lusaka.
“Since Monday 14th January 2019, the Commission has been following up with the Police to find out the whereabouts of Ms. Mwale and the information obtained is that she accompanied police officers to Mongu to help track down her husband, Edwin Kabasiya, the police officer alleged to have shot dead Constable Lennox Kapila”, Mr. Muleya said.
He said the Commission is seriously concerned at the flagrant violation of Ms. Mwale’s constitutional right to liberty as enshrined under Article 13 of the Constitution of Zambia.
Mr. Muleya said the right to liberty can only be lawfully taken away, among other circumstances, where there is a court order or upon reasonable suspicion of a person having committed, or is about to commit a criminal offence under the law in force in Zambia.
He said based on preliminary information gathered by the Commission, there is neither a court order nor reasonable suspicion of Ms. Mwale having committed any criminal offence warranting her detention.
“Further, it is established international human rights law that prolonged isolation and deprivation of communication with others as is the case with Ms. Mwale’s detention which amounts to cruel and inhuman treatment, harmful to the psychological and moral integrity of the person and a violation of the inherent dignity of a human being.
He said the Commission frowns upon any form of human rights violation such as the continued unlawful practice by the Police of detaining individuals to help with investigations.
Mr. Muleya said the position of the law regarding when the police can arrest or detain someone was clarified in the case of DANIEL CHIZOKA MBANDANGOMA v THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL (1979) Z.R. 45 (H.C.), in which the court held, inter alia; that “the police can only arrest persons for offences and have no power to arrest anyone in order to make inquiries…”, and that “arresting and detaining anyone for purposes of facilitating investigations was unlawful and amounted to false imprisonment”.
“Therefore, the Commission calls upon the Police to immediately release Ms. Mwale from their custody and respect her rights to liberty, health, inherent dignity and allow her to communicate and meet with her family and relatives”, He added.
Mr. Muleya has reminded the police that the means does not justify the end and that Law enforcement officers must always conduct their operations within the ambit of the law regardless of the gravity or complexity of the matter at hand.
She is the causer i believe
Very unprofessional police service. Wait, this is police brutality.
They said she went to call husband to deal with the dead officer.
With ZP, she will be impregnated 4 times in a month. Forsake of sexually, am on Human Rights side.
Causer? Examination leak products! Yayi mwe. So for you a Causer, as you suspect, has to be harassed? Police are trained to investigate not to harangue people. When they harass they are just showing they have no investigation skills so they are resorting to savagery
Not only releasing her; but anyone in connection with her detention should be sued! Bala samwa sana bakapokola.
These human rights should not only express concern. They should arrest the involved police and charge them
WHEN POLICE ACTS TO DETAIN KAMWILI GBM U COMPLAIN WHEN WE DO A PROFESSIONAL JOB TO A CIVILIAN ATI TALAKWANSO KANSI WHAT DO U WANT US TO DO? THIS WOMAN IS HELD TO HELP WITH INVESTIGATIONS AND SO FAR WE ARE ALMOST CATCHING UP WITH THE CULPRIT DUE TO HER INFORMATION. SHE HAD TO BE BEATEN ALITTLE BIT TO RELEASE DATA AND DENIED SEKISI ONLY MADE IT AVAILABLE TO INVESTIGATING OFFICERS AT HER OWN REQUEST
You cannot detain relatives of a suspect just because you have failed to find the suspect. Like this the police can be sued for false imprisonment.
Pure Banana Republic
The same so Human Rights commission did not condemn the way this same woman and her husbands behavior led to the death of an innocent and professional officer. Put yourselves in the shoes of his family especially his wife and two young children. If the husband is sensible and with a human heart let him hand himself over to the police. Don’t tolerate nonsensical behavior especially when a life has been lost.
She must just owner up. She had caused the husband to behave in the manner he did because her. She is an accomplice to the murder. The relatives must not poke their nose in this issue.
So many chauvinist pigs here. A woman is convicted without charging
She’s an accessory plain and simple.
The lady was a party to the death of the police officer. She incited her husband to fury when she was unable to force the deceased officer to arrest an innocent man based on her idea that as a police officers wife she could have the man she felt offended her arrested. It’s an irony of sorts that her actions have lead her to be arrested on her diva like behaviour to remove the rights of another.
In this matter she is justly held and may have as part of a plea bargain assisted the police to track down the husband she incited to kill another man. SHE IS JUSGLY HELD.
I have had dealings with Chelston Police station and I can tell the commissioner that they are scrupulous in dispensing actions within the law.
I met with Chief Inspector Zozi after obtaining a court order from Chelston Magistrates Court, and met him to authorise the document. I beseeched him to arrest all my offending Aunt’s and cousins in a matter of inheritance theft, but he calmly talked me out of filing a charge against them because of the process. He explained that he would have to arrest them, question them for 7 days and if needed he could hold them longer until they squealed(my word). He instead advised me to sit down with them and talk as I had to look to the fact that they are my family and a criminal process may not preserve the family bond.
The second time I had dealings with Chelston Police station, was in the matter of removing The Market Mistress, at Chelston Market out of my families store which she has since held over after renting unlawfully from my Aunt. She is still there and has never paid a penny in rent. The police in that matter chose to mediate and left us to shout it out! She wears her PF regalia every now and then and we can’t touch her. For a fact, the only reason Zozi will pull his authority out is because it is appropriate in accordance with the seriousness of it and the guilt of the lady in inciting violence to death (hatred). That is a crime also and they are carrying out appropriate police matters.
The third time …….no wait…..was when madam PF Market Mistress tried to get the police to arrest me because I refused her to continue her unlawful residence in the store which by then had no fire certificate and failed in the new requirement of licensing to operate. The police told me to go home and ignore her silliness.
I am going to see Chief Inspector Zozi soon to bother him again to act on this PF madam.