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The Tonse Alliance has expressed concern over threats by the Zambia Police to arrest individuals who refer to alleged covert detentions as abductions.
Alliance spokesperson, Sean Tembo, stated that while the opposition has no objection to police carrying out their duties, this must be done transparently and in accordance with the Constitution and its subsidiary laws.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Thursday, Tembo cited the Zambia Police Service Act (Cap 107) and the Criminal Procedure Code Act (Cap 88), emphasizing that these laws mandate law enforcement to conduct arrests and detentions openly.
He noted that these statutes granted suspects the right to legal representation or, in its absence, the presence of a relative or friend during interrogation.
Additionally, Tembo referenced Section 253 of the Penal Code Act (Cap 87), which defined abduction as forcibly compelling a person to move from one place to another outside the provisions of any written law.
“Clearly, when the police detain someone at a gazetted facility, such as a police station, while affording them their legal rights, no offense is committed,” Tembo said.
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However, he argued that when officers arrest or detain individuals while concealing their whereabouts and denying them legal rights, they are guilty of abduction under the Penal Code.
He warned that wearing a police uniform, having a service number, or carrying an identity card does not grant officers immunity from the criminal offense of abduction.
“As Tonse Alliance, we caution individual police officers to operate strictly within the law,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Police Spokesperson, Rae Hamoonga, recently warned against the deliberate misuse of terms such as “abduction” when referring to lawful police operations.
He stated that such claims were aimed at tarnishing the police service’s reputation and causing unnecessary public alarm.
“We shall not let this tendency go unabated,” Hamoonga warned.
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