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The New Heritage Party has said the detention of former Patriotic Front (PF) Deputy Secretary-General, Mumbi Phiri, was a deliberate effort to humiliate, punish and silence a prominent opposition figure by operating outside of legal parameters.
Party vice president for Administration, Samuel Kasankha, said Zambians should be alarmed by the increasing trend of targeting opposition politicians and dissenting voices in Zambia by deliberately abusing aspects of existing and well-intentioned laws.
Kasankha in a statement issued in Lusaka on Friday stated that the arbitrary arrests followed by detention without proper investigation had become a tool for vengeance , harassment and intimidation of perceived political enemies.
He said this tactic undermines the country’s democracy and infringes upon the basic rights of the Zambian citizens.
“The wrongful arrest and prolonged detention of Ms. Phiri, based on a weak case that was never prosecutable, reflect the continuing and ever grave abuse of state power that we Zambians should never continue to tolerate,” Kasankha stated.
He alleged that the circumstances of Phiri’s detention point to potential collusion between certain individuals in the police service and elements within the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND).
Kasanka said Phiri’s release, prompted in part by the presence of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Dr. Khan, exposes selective application of justice which should cease with immediate effect.
“If not for her prominence and the mounting pressure from the general public, how much longer would she have languished in detention,” he asked.
Kasankha raised concern with the countless ordinary Zambians who remain in police custody for both bailable and bondable offenses, who were not detained to await trial but to have their cases investigated.
He also expressed disappointment in the Human Rights Commission (HRC) for suggesting that the country’s human rights record had improved under the UPND government while many serious and clearly visible violations continue unabated.
“Human rights are not to be protected in percentages but in their entirety. The Commission must rise to its constitutional mandate, condemn these injustices, and take decisive action to protect every citizen’s rights,” he stated.
Kasankha said the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) not to proceed with Phiri’s case due to lack of evidence should serve as a wake-up call to the police.
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