Foundation for Democratic Process FODEP has challenged the Zambia Police Service to explain why it has continued to religiously apply the Public Order Act in a selective manner.
Speaking in an interview FODEP Executive Director McDonald Chipenzi condemned the arresting of Youths from Action Aid and other organisations for wearing T-shirts demanding for the release of the constitution.
He said the behavior of the police was uncalled for and a source of anarchy as well as disorder in the country.
Mr Chipenzi said their actions was pure evidence of how the police have continued to misapply act, abuse and oppress the people in the country.
Mr Chipezi said it is shocking that the youths who breached the law by wearing military uniforms were not arrested as required by the Public Order Act while the same act was used to arrest the peaceful youths from Action Aid who were just demanding for the constitution which is their right.
“Section3 of the Public Order Act subsection 1 reads subject as herein after provided any person who is in a public place or at any public meeting wears a uniform or displays any flag signifying his association with any political organisation or with a promotion of any political organisation is guilty of an offense”.explained Mr. Chipenzi.
He wondered who was guilty of an offense between the youths from Action Aid and those from the ruling Patriotic Front who were clad in uniforms saying the law is clear on who was suppose to be arrested.
He further noted that one can only wear a uniform when he/she has applied todo so in their own hand writing hence the Zambia Police should produce evidence that the PF applied to wear their uniforms during the celebrations yesterday.
Mr Chipenzi also challenged the Police to explain as to why the youths were arrested as they were only wearing T-shirts demanding for the constitution which is a supreme law that will protect everyone in the country including the police themselves from being abused by politicians.
“The act further states that a person shell not be guilt of an offense of wearing a uniform in a public place otherwise than at a procession or public meeting unless he is at the time acting or purporting to be acting on behalf of a political organisation”. He noted.
He appealed to the Police to apply the Public Order Act holistically as well as fairly without any bias adding that the law must be applied equally and equitably regardless of who has breached it.
Good message but fails on deaf ears,the police who are the most abused by politicians and continue to obey orders,be brave like the Egyptian police,Ukrainian police.anyway they are grade 7’s.
To be honest I dont just like the Zambian Police Service. They are so docile and are used by incumbent governments like condoms. Bafukililafye innocents citizens. Thats why we need a new constitution which will protect the rights of the innocent Zambian citizens.
@1.1, In spite of a new constitution, and NOT because of it, we urgently need a more assertive citizenry. That is what is sorely missing. Our own negligence at understanding the law and applying it against the odds is what is missing. This is why the government and it’s wings apply laws selectively and sometimes in a time-lapsed manner. Look at how they decided to rewind the clock on GBM as an example. A new constitution on the same docile population will do little to ameliorate the status quo. My two cents.
@Kalok, true that. I agree my fellow citizen.
Meant falls….not fails.
First the constitutional rights and guarantees tramp any barbaric public order act. Even under its current flawed form, the constitution provides protection to wear, gather and demonstrate.
What a bunch of cowards these so called police. Why don’t you arrest someone your own size not children? Please sue their a$ses and then turn to court wearing exactly the same T-shirts. Let everyone show solidarity by wearing the same T-shirts. It’s the youth that turned hrut@l regimes such as the apartheid govt on it’s knees. So stand up and be counted.
Fun these bunch of hypocrites will turn up at some meeting somewhere and encourage the youths to participate in the political process of their own country. But when they do, they end up being arrested. What a country!
no. 4
Our useless police force is politicized so much that they cannot be trusted to exercise their duties professionally without fear or favor.Their PF paymasters led by Sata are pulling the strings behind the scenes for all this ushenzi.
Sadly, it’s a vicious cycle that’s repeated itself since we got independence ergo it has become sort of a right of passage of the government in power. I hate to sound pessimistic but we need a fundamental shift in attitudes; we need a focused set of goals that:
I. Ensure an equal footing for all (majority) through enhanced access to health and education
II. Relevance- we need to refocus and strengthen other industry other than mining copper viz, agric. tourism, transportation, communication.
III. Resilience – we need to think of creative means, homegrown or borrowed, to improve the well being of everyone in the country.
While these are bullet points if you digest the words of every positive comment here, then we’ll be moving in the right direction. We just have to choose.
Chi Sata and his PF goons are just a bunch of pig scrotum-s. They punish you when you make them account for their fake promises. The same thing happened to the poor nurses.
These are the sort of men when they are sent to Sudan for peacekeeping they lock themselves up inside their camp for fear of being killed, but here they want to scare youths with their sunglasses! These are pure cowards..they are like cats who fear rats but try by all means to harass flies in the house. wenyoooo!!!.
Zambia has gone to the dogs for sure.It’s like we’re in Afghanistan under the sharia law being ruled by the Taliban,what a shame.People can’t even cough about the constitution without the barbaric PF, Police Force arresting them.This is what used to happen under Kaunda era for all those old folks who can remember. The so-called vigilante police a wing of UNIP used to mint capital punishment to anyone having an opposing viewpoint. Today after almost 20 years since democracy came back, we’re suppose to in a none violent manner air our opposing views, demonstrate if we want. Alas what is happening today is worse than what the 3 successive MMD Presidents put together tolerated. It’s a shame that we don’t have Lawyers who can stand up for these innocent souls, crime, wearing a T-shirt .
For all it’s failing, Afghanistan and most countries in the region you cite have one thing that stands out: as a government, you misuse your laws at your own peril. The citizens OWN the laws and consistently challenge authority whenever something doesn’t seem right. This is why we always think there is chaos. If you look closer you actually see a resilient, assertive citizen who brooks no nonsense from anyone. In these countries, the leader is truly a servant. Sharia law aside.
no person in his or her right mind except retard pf goons will support what the police did to the innocent youths. let all peace loving Zambians demostrate against the Pathetic Fulish police and the Pathetic Fulishi party. we fought KK for these abuses and we’ll fight Sata and his henchmen for these abuses at the ballot box.
The Public Order Act is a law passed by Parliament. What baffles some of us is that no MP among the opposition political parties (including the “old” PF) has ever brought to the floor of the house a motion to ask for a Ministerial statement to interpret (or is it re-interpret) this law. We all know that there is no Section /clause which gives powers to the police to give “permission” to holding of public meetings. Is it bcoz our political party leaderships secretly want this status quo (abuse) to continue so that they also “enjoy” abusing it against opponents when they are in power? Are these your secret plans UPND, FDD, MMD (loved it so much) etc?? Do we really have sincere opposition leaders? The way the “new” PF is behaving, very disappointing indeed. Thanks for the roads…
The Public Order Act is a law passed by Parliament. What baffles some of us is that no MP among the opposition political parties (including the “old” PF) has ever brought to the floor of the house a motion to ask for a Ministerial statement to interpret (or is it re-interpret) this law. We all know that there is no Section /clause which gives powers to the police to give “permission” to holding of public meetings. Is it bcoz our political party leaderships secretly want this status quo (abuse) to continue so that they also “enjoy” abusing it against opponents when they are in power? Are these your secret plans UPND, FDD, MMD (loved it so much) etc?? Do we really have sincere opposition leaders? The way the “new” PF is behaving, very disappointing indeed. Thanks for the roads…
“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel” wrote one famous playwright. A “scoundrel” is some sense refers to a dog or mischevious and conniving person- or a combination of both. Now a party that calls itself the Patriotic Front (Front which suggests a lack of authenticity or simply a fake), PF’s membership nature speaks for itself- a bunch of scoundreals that at this point proved themselves dogs. 2016 kuya bebebele m****** mwe.
Don’t forget the scoundrels who ceded their rights to usher them into the seats they now occupy. You have got to work hard on that section of this interesting population.
Zambia plane crush of 1993 report is on Wikipedia. Read it.
Yes. Politicians were busy commandeering the commercial planes from the national carrier for free but always cited expense when it came to other sections of the population on equal national duty. It is a shame.
“A Gabonese official investigation into the accident concluded that the pilot had shut down the wrong engine after a fire. The investigation found that PILOT FATIGUE and an instrument error had contributed to the accident”
This wikipedia report stinks: pilot fatigue!!? after flying for only 3 or 4 hours from Lusaka to Gabon! Some body out there thinks Zambians are st,upid. And obviously they expect us to swallow this blatant untruth.
Ule tekanya, the pilot had just come from another assignment before embarking on the Gabon trip that’s where the fatigue came from.
Madam IG. Your partiality in enforcing the POA law and even abating commission of offenses (youth clad in military fatigues) will be your downfall and subsequent incarceration.
You might think you are impregnable and beyond reach and so did FTJ, Chief Spy Xavier Chungu, many PS and even Allabee.
Do what is right and you will live a free person. Zambians dont forgive blatant wrongs. Take this timely advice.
Politicians only do what pleases them. In this case this backward Acts, like Public Order Act, suits well Sata and his team to ensure citizens are suppressed in order to prolong his rule. The only reason he is fighting the constitution is the clause to do with age limit. This does not suit him at all, therefore, he will go to any length to promote oppressive laws so that Zambians cannot voice out on the need for the new constitution. Otherwise what explains his supporters wearing military regalia and being left free, while youths demonstrating for the constitution are locked up in cells for over 6 hours?
bottom line is a POVERTY just basic needs to say the least like toilet paper majority cant afford them hence doing to please the master as you the police guys in photo look so deprived of neatness,nutrients just see how oily their faces look am bad breath is worse……..ubututu mumano
baletinya,as if they are going for a war
Ala kanshi naiwe, me too!
He wondered who was guilty of an offense between the youths from Action Aid and those from the ruling Patriotic Front who were clad in uniforms saying the law is clear on who was suppose to be arrested.
In addition who is supposed to be arrested, the youths putting on T-Shirts demanding a constitution OR Panga Family youths carrying pangas in cairo road???
Geeez that foto! They sure scare the *el out of me, more like angels of death!
Do they parade around everywhere looking like this? Zambia must have changed!
Hahaha,ati angels of death.Ulisema ati Ba Kenya ni watu wa roho ngumu but now emeona Ba Zambians you call angels of death?
I guess we Zambians are same “roho ngumus” as those Kenyans afterall. I love Zambia and zambians though,even with all our imperfections.
@ Mzambia,
Yani vinatisha! Ngozi iyooo…. kama nyoka Black mamba ivi wa Zambia awa? Jamani we are used natu ma ZP with their poverty looking uniforms!
Its sad that people who talk sense are seen to be fools when they push for things that are straightforward. Is it wrong to ask? They want us to keep quiet for saying that way you are wrong try this way. How will the world be without people questioning what we do?
This is the most absurd law to exist in any “Democratic” country. The Public Order Act in effect is designed for the rulling party to control opposition; it does not do what people think. This law is ” undemocratic” and infringes on the rights of Zambian citizens. When our president was in the opposition he was always quick to censure it, now that he is in power its very use as become the hallmark of dictatorship. The ability for people to express their political views, however divergent is one of the few elements of progressive democracies that enshrines their immortality. But if we decide to stay in one format of thought, we wont have any perception of what can be and last time something like this happened we had one mind rule the country for 27years!!