IG Gabriel Musamba, Please Stop the Police Comedy and Put Your House in Order

By Leemans L. Nyirenda

Watching a police officer failing to answer questions put forward by Bishop Mulenga and his failure to justify why he was in his office was what I can describe as the comedy of the month. Worse still, parading himself to be grilled by the bishop and later by Mr. Lungu himself was another sorry sight. It was an embarrassing moment that I have not seen in a decade. The officer behaved as though he was in a den of lions, scared and shaking. How on earth? He behaved like he never passed Lilayi College.

First and foremost, the mission was ill-fated from the beginning. I am not questioning the powers of the police in the execution of their duties, nor am I the right person to lecture the police on how they execute their operations. However, in the eyes of the public, their operation in Kabwe was poorly executed and totally unnecessary for the following reasons:

Reason No. 1 – Following Mr. Lungu into the bishop’s office was a very poor and unpopular decision, as can be seen from reactions from members of the public, including those that support the New Dawn Government. Mr. Lungu did not need to notify the police that he was going to visit the bishop at his office by giving seven days’ notice as required by the Public Order Act. Since he was not holding a public rally or meeting, it was unnecessary to follow him because he had the right to visit the bishop in a private capacity as a private citizen.

Reason No. 2 – It is not correct for police to stop Mr. Lungu from visiting the bishop if he has not committed any crime or is not suspected to be about to commit or abet the commission of a crime. There must be probable cause for police to stop him from visiting the bishop. According to the footage, the police officer gave no good reason for his request to have Mr. Lungu leave the bishop’s office. In any case, who could take him seriously since he was very scared and shaking? Why was he shaking if Mr. Lungu had broken or was about to break the law? Was it not prudent for the officer to tell Mr. Lungu that he was wanted at the police station for enquiries? And if he resisted, call for reinforcement and bundle him in the Police Land Cruiser? If a police officer can parade himself before a suspect and, because he is scared, begins to shake, what message does that send to members of the public? Isn’t that comedy?

Taking Advantage of the Hunger Situation and Hardships

Mr. Lungu is taking advantage of the hunger situation being experienced by the people of Zambia due to the drought and the debt that he carelessly contracted and left, now in the hands of the UPND. He is playing politics by using hunger and hardships to his advantage. Unfortunately, that is the price of being in a democratic state. He can say anything provided it is not criminal. The police should only engage Mr. Lungu where he has or is likely to break the law. He does not enjoy any immunity as his immunity lapsed on 25th August 2021, when President HH was sworn in as President and Mr. Lungu handed over the instruments of power at Heroes Stadium. He is an ordinary citizen like everyone else. The immunity he possesses applies to crimes that he may have committed during his presidency. Any crime committed after 25th August 2021, he is liable. So, what was so difficult in picking up Mr. Lungu if he had committed a crime or was about to commit one? It seems the operation had no objectives set, no goal or goals, and the mission was not well defined. As a result, the operation was not successful. If I were to give them marks based on their operation in Kabwe, they would get 1/10. The one mark being their success in locating the suspect’s whereabouts. They managed to locate him at the bishop’s office. On this one, they were successful. The rest, zero.

Stop Helping Mr. Lungu Because He Has Blood on His Hands

The beauty of democracy is that you can use your opponent’s good intentions to your own advantage, and this is what Mr. Lungu is doing. Mr. Hichilema was blocked from campaigning in almost all the provinces by the same Mr. Lungu. Today, Mr. Lungu can go wherever he wants because the same person he was blocking has made it possible for him to. Mr. Lungu is also lucky to not have brutal police officers. He has officers who will approach him politely and even begin to shake. He is lucky because just two and a half years ago, Mr. Hichilema could not travel freely. The police should be decisive in their dealings with Mr. Lungu if he is suspected of being about to commit a crime or has committed one. There are thousands of people who were terribly brutalized by Mr. Lungu’s officers when he was the commander-in-chief of the police and his cadres. People were battered, brutalized, maimed, shot, murdered, and killed, and those who lost loved ones are still calling for his blood. They have not yet come to terms with the fact that the man who was commanding the police and killed Chibulo Mapenzi, Nsama Nsama, Vespers, etc., is still walking the streets of Zambian cities as a free man and has not been held to account. These people feel betrayed when they see the police scratching Mr. Lungu. However, if he has not committed a crime, police should refrain from giving him unnecessary attention because that works against the government.

Mr. Lungu Playing the Victim Card

Unfortunately, Mr. Lungu has perfected the art of playing the victim to the point that, on face value, one might think he is the victim. Having embraced corruption to the core, in which the country was plundered and looted, and having left the state coffers with huge debt which choked the country, the actual victims are the people of Zambia who inherited a battered economy after PF was shown the door. A lost decade of PF plunder, in which the same PF wants the economy to be mended within two years, is what we have today in Zambia. The real victims need help, but Mr. Lungu is playing the victim. He is a shrewd politician. Therefore, the police should spare us the embarrassment of engaging Mr. Lungu in ways that help him to play the victim. He is not the victim. The victims are the people of Zambia. IG Musamba, please stop the police comedy and put your house in order.

The author is a human rights advocate, author, researcher, youth and development partner, and corporate and management consultant. He holds a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Laws, and a Diploma in Human Resource Management.