It is extremely hard to dodge to sound political when commenting on arrest and detention procedure in Zambia.
Early April 2017 the United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema was arrested for blocking president Lungu motorcade. He spent 127 days in prison without trial.
Every effort by Zambians to have him released failed. It took the international community to rescue him from prison.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland had to fly to Zambia to come and negotiate the release of Hakainde Hichilema.
Today, it appears the UPND is in the similar situation. Its four senior members have spent days in police custody without any sign of trial.
Like the case with Hakainde Hichilema, individuals and local groups and organizations such as the Human Rights Commission (HRC) are demanding that the arrested individuals be charged or released but in vain. The law is completely being ignored again.
Arresting the four individuals is not the issue. The issue is their prolonged detention. It is almost three weeks without a charge.
The Zambian law requires that a detainee appears before a court within 24 to 48 hours of arrest and be informed of the charges against him or her.
Unfortunately, as clear as it sounds it continues to be the most abused part of the Zambian law. All because of the nature of politics in the country.
There is no other explanation other than politics in play. The arrested UPND members are among the giants of the party. The general election is drawing near and the nominations to contest the upcoming August general election is here.
The prolonged holding of former Local Government minister Ackson Sejani, Choma Mayor Javen Simoloka, Mazabuka Mayor Vincent Lilanda, and Choma businessman Fines Malambo could be a deliberate move by the Patriotic Front (PF) to stop them from filling and being adopted to stand as member of parliaments in their areas of choice in the upcoming August election.
They should be released immediately. Their prolonged holding in police cells is not fair. It shows that the police have no enough evidence to charge them.
This kind of abuse of arrest and detention procedure started with Hakainde Hichilema arrest in 2017. It has now become a common thing. Bails are being denied for no reasons since then. Resulting in detainees, mostly government critics, spending more than 48 hours in custody.
Should the Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland fly to Zambia again to come and negotiate the release of former minister Sejani, Mayor Simoloka, Mayor Lilanda, and Choma businessman Fines Malambo?
Something need to be done to stop this. Arrest and detention procedure in the country need reform.
By Venus N Msyani
Concerned citizen
Nothing will happen until corrupt PF has been removed. Lungu and his band of cronies is very happy with the status quo, whereby absolutely anybody can go in (and kept in) on the whim of a phonecall from State House. But too many people are on the take from these greedy government members.
Latest Zambian viral video……Suspected PF CADRES stormed offices at transport and control unit under the ministry of transport and chased a civil servant only identified as Sherry who is alleged to be a UPND sympathiser. They vowed to burn her alive!
The police service has its own mode of operation and they get instructions from the above. Those UPND members detained are state guests and will only be released at the right time. In the meantime its sela tubombeko. African politics are strange than fiction. Just down RSA Mr. Jacob Zuma Ex President has refused to appear before the Zando Commission where the Judicial is more independent. In the meantime no one is bold enough in ANC to convince Zuma to do the right thing of appearing before a lawfully constituted commission to clear his name.
When the rule of law is not followed that’s when people take the law into their own hands which leads to anarchy. PF is going to lead us into anarchy.
Mwami 1 can’t effect meaningful police reforms. It’s better to be detained by ZP than to be kidnapped like Pheluna and Milton Hatembo.