Friday, March 29, 2024

Human Right Commission calls for Arrest of All Suspsects in Connection with death of an NDC Member

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THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION CALLS FOR THE ARREST AND PROSECUTION OF ALL SUSPECTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE DEATH OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS YOUTH CHAIRMAN

The Human Rights Commission (HRC) is deeply saddened at the death of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) youth Chairman, Mr. Obed Kasongo who was hacked by political opponents during the Roan Parliamentary by-elections on 11th April 2019 and calls for the immediate arrest all the suspected perpetrators.

The death of the NDC youth leader is a clear case of deprivation of his Right to Life through organised violence by well-known suspects who were reported to Mpatamatu Police Station on 11th April 2019.

While observing the Roan Parliamentary by-elections, the Commission received a complaint that four NDC members by the names of Mr. Guston Mwila, Mr. Obed Kasongo, a Mr. Musukwa and Mr Byson Phiri were brutally hacked with machetes and other weapons by suspected PF members and leaders during the early hours of 11th April 2019.

The Commission engaged the Police who confirmed the incident and the fact that a named 25 year old man was arrested and detained in connection with the physical assault of the four NDC members. The Commission also met with NDC members and leaders, in the company of the late Mr. Kasongo, who had gone to report at Mpatamatu Police Station. They complained that the detained suspect was just a sacrificial lamb because the suspect who had actually harmed Mr. Kasongo was still being seen driving around and was at the Police Station but he was let scot free.

The late Mr. Kasongo expressed fear that if he did not scream that,“it is me Kasongo [while mentioning the name of one of his assailants] please don’t kill me”, he would have been killed on the spot during that same fateful early morning.

As a National Human Rights Institution, we are extremely concerned at the established pattern of either unwillingness, failure, refusal or negligence by the Police to arrest and prosecute individuals associated with the ruling party that commit human rights violations and crimes, particularly against their political opponents.
For instance, there is documentary evidence in form of a video that has been circulating for almost a month showing individuals verbally abusing NDC leader Dr. Chishimba Kambwili and his mother but to date, the suspects have not been arrested.

Few days ago, PF members and leaders in Kabwe took the law into their own hands by storming Power FM Radio Station and hounded out Dr. Kambwili who was speaking on a programme, but no action has so far been taken against those who threatened violence and suppressed freedom of expression and media freedom. The lack of action by the police in the three stated incidents is in sharp contrast with the rapid police response against members of the opposition and other activists when they suspected or accused of breaching law and order

The Commission wishes to remind the police that selective application of the law is a human rights violation and an act of bad governance because everyone is entitled to equal protection and benefit of the law without any form of discrimination.

The Commission therefore calls upon the Government, which has the primary mandate and obligation of respecting and promoting human rights and freedoms, to seriously redress the growing and systematic violation of the Right to Equal Protection of the Law.

To this effect, the Commission will continue monitoring the action that will be taken against suspects accused of being responsible for the death of Mr. Kasongo; the individuals appearing in the video verbally abusing Dr. Kambwili and his mother and those who publicly justified taking the law into their own hands by disrupting a live discussion programme at Power FM Radio in Kabwe on 30th April 2019.

Addressing impunity in violating human rights and committing heinous crimes such as murder is one of the key indicators of the country’s commitment to meeting its human rights obligations and fostering a democratic and inclusive governance environment for sustainable development.

[The Human Rights Commission is a National Human Rights Institution established under Article 230 of the Constitution of Zambian (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016 to promote and protect Human Rights in Zambia]

Mweelwa Muleya
Spokesperson
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

30 COMMENTS

  1. Will NEVER happen, as long as the Thuggish Corrupt P.F is in power.
    However like Omar Bashir, these PF Goon Rats day of reckoning IS FAST APPROACHING!

    • Dear Bowman Lusambo,
      You are a murderer. Even if PF shield you from prison, you are guilty. Your hands are stained wirh blood. And your conscience will not allow yoibtp rest. In the depth of your heart you know you are a murderer. You will never have peace, to your dying day.

    • Arresting the situation
      Loss of life out of natural cause surely feels bad.
      There is nothing worse that losing life in an even where such would have been avoided in one way or the other.
      Accidents on road happen and people who conduct post accidents investigation often tell us that the accident would have been avoided. We apportion blame. As usual. Always.
      The loss of this NDC lead member is utterly unfortunate. I feel for the family. This could have been avoided too. We are already apportioning blame. At the time we were thinking the the polls in Roan were generally normal. There was a statement from the Human rights activists feeling upbeat about it.
      It’s high time Zambia changed the way it does politics. MODERATION. I don’t know if it is by policy or an inward moral…

    • …standing. I hate cadres and cadreism. I hate CK’s mannerism of politics. If you people keep status quo, more political deaths are coming on all sides. Sad.

    • LUSAMBO’S OWN CONSCIOUS WILL KILL HIM

      It had to take me this long to write about this comrade who passed on due to the injuries inflicted on him by the Provincial minister of Lusaka.

      “Bowman, walanjipaya” these were his words as he was hacked by the hyper Minister and member of parliament for Kabushi.

      Bowman ordered his men to stop the hacking after he identified Mr. Obed Kasongo.. He’s that person he knew very .

      Inside Bowman’s heart there’s that sorrow, guilty conscience and a permanent sickness That Won’t heal. He knows that he’s killed a father and a husband.

      Bowman can escape the long arm of the law today but he won’t escape his conscience. Don’t get surprised if you see him mad.

      The only help you can offer Bowman is to face the law and not to…

    • The only help you can offer Bowman is to face the law and not to shield him. It’s Chairman Kasongo Obed who identified the assailant and not anybody else.

      It’s OK for Charity katanga not to order the arrest of the suspect Since she has no love for humanity.

      I thought women in service have that integrity but alas, charity has defiled all odds. She’s proven that she’s nothing but that stain in our history.

      Cage Bowman Lusambo before he kills more people.. Soon you will hear him boast that I hacked Kasongo because he was supporting kambwili .

      Today I mourn my fellow Chairman from Lusaka province. I feel drained, downtrodden and confused as the life is lost.

      May God be with your family comrade.

      So long as Bowman is free just know that some criminals are…

    • Zambia will never have the Sudan-style revolution because you zambians are cowards. They PF killer regime you have thdre will rule u forever

  2. We awareness campaign.

    How can normal human being die Kambwili. A human being with a family dying for a loud mouth full.. Thats incredible

    How can a normal human being kill for the sake or die for sake of lungu or hh.

    How many have died for lungu and hh respectively while lungu is drinking and hh is busy counting his cows.

    Dont feel sorry for these deceased perhaps that the ONLY way they can learn

    • You are more direct.
      It’s sad. That man could be a family man. Makes me think it’s CK’s fault. Had he stayed in parliament, he wouldn’t have triggered that messy by-election. Messy because it led to the death or a supposed Parent. At another thought, I feel its our collective fault. We could avoid this by fixing our political policy on by-election. Lastly, I feel it was his fault; he couldn’t have taken CK’s job or he could have just delayed a little bit so whatever happened could have missed him. Is how we will die already preconceived or preconfigured by God? I like blogging, will I die on a keyboard? CK, be a little more symphathetic. I hope you are not extremely spooky.

    • Don’t be st.u.pid. The deceased died for democracy. He died for freedom which our founding fathers fought for. It’s sad that today Zambia can produce im.bec.iles such as yourselves.

    • You must be neutral in your silly analysis. Mind you I am a PF supporter but this stupidity of killing people by Lusambo is not inspiring. We who are peace loving Zambians are being driven away from PF slowly by this reckless behavior. Please tame Lusambo and his Thugs.

    • Omar al-Bashir, the last of the Arab world’s long-term dictators, was finally overthrownlast week after months of protests.
      The Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik grew up under Bashir’s government. In the 1990s, while at the University of Khartoum, she witnessed the brutality of his regime when government security forces stormed her campus, spraying teargas and beating students with batons. The government was unhappy with the results of a student union election.
      Twenty years on, Malik talks to Mythili Raoabout what the 29-year rule of al-Bashir has meant for her country and discusses how this popular uprising, which has been building momentum for almost four months, has denied Bashir his 30th anniversary. 

    • Leadership begins with you. In you home. Then your children will be more led. They will be so trained to trade carefully in this world of snares, this Zambia of politically motivated deaths. A Zambia where cadreism is becoming a norm. It begins with you.

      Shut the hell up, better still STFU.

  3. Its a pity how we in Zambia especially in the political parties how we d not respect life. These are results of poverty and desperation inflicted on the people. How I wish our people could wake up and only exercise their right to vote and not engage in such cadre activities. These are the consequences they pay unfortunately, political regalia should also be banned so people can start identifying themselves as Zambians and not NDC, PF or even UPND.

  4. But Mr.Kambwili what did you and your party do for the late and others who were injured!? It appears you became too happy with your victory you forgot about all the bad things that had happened in the process! All those injured needed special medical attention to ensure they had no internal injuries and trauma! You also needed lawyers to follow up these matters to ensure culprits were brought to book! No, you were to happy with the thrashing you inflicted on PF you never looked back to “mop up the battle field”! This shows how unholistic a leader you may be,one driven only by power,success with little reflection to the past and those propelling you forward!!If you and your party had worked meticulously with lawyers to gather evidence before the death of this soul,that could have…

    • You must be neutral in your silly analysis. Mind you I am a PF supporter but this stupidity of killing people by Lusambo is not inspiring. We who are peace loving Zambians are being driven away from PF slowly by this reckless behavior. Please tame Lusambo and his Thugs.

    • @8.1 Truth hate,I now believe your name,truth hates indeed.Yes we need to preserve peace but we also need leaders who are deep thinkers and thorough with what they do! If you are party cadre as you sound pliz advise them!!

  5. It does not matter what political party one belonged to, or who leads that party. Thuggery that has no respect for rights or values of existence, took away someone’s life. Not doing anything, by those bestowed with the enforcement of law, means they are equally complicit in this lawlessness and abrogation of the rule of law.

    This is how societies disintegrate to anarchy – when those who have the power to stop abuses, do nothing or even sponsor the perpetration of violence as a means of governance (as they are incapable of, or lack the acumen to run a nation in civilised fashion)

  6. First and foremost I would like to send my Deepest condolences to the NDC and the family. Zambian why are we develop this system of killing each other? Do we have law in this Nation?where is President of this Nation kanshi , isabi ukubola lyambila ku muntwe we have a big problem this Nation, no country that can rule by cadres please twapapata,, if indeed we have genuine leader this is the time to act.. thanks 2021 is near the same pipo whom u are killing mukabebukisha

  7. Dear Zambians,
    It is sad to learn of the death of Mr. Kasongo, MHSRIP. Thanks to the Human Rights commission for the call to have the perpetrators of violence, Arrested and prosecuted. However, this will never happen ,because the people involved are not in opposition. In this country the Law is applied selectively.
    Lets for instance, remember some opposition supporters/leaders who are in jail. some serving death or life in prison and at how swift the police had moved in to arrest and how quick their cases were handled. This will not happen in this particular case, because ,it involves people with power,authority and wealth. Only God will deliver the judgement they deserve.

    To you the perpetrators of violence ( I will not call you murderers because “you are innocent until proven…

  8. Regardless of CONCERN OF HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ,their spokesperson is UPND and TRIBALIST HARDCORE,mweelya MULEYA we know each very well.
    Last time I had a full scale argument with them for practicing tribalism on my face over PRIME TV suspension .

  9. Even those that killed Vespers the UNZA student are still free and probably committing more crimes.

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