Dear Editor,
IT is not strange that in the estimation of some organisations, African countries are always discredited even where they genuinely take proactive measures to reform their governance systems.
Zambia has made progress in uplifting its human rights profile, therefore the recent published report by Amnesty International (AI) regarding the human rights is a misrepresentation of the political realities which have taken place in the country.
The report apparently is the tool of blackmail aimed at tarnishing the institutions of governance and consequently undermine the country’s independence. We say so because it has omitted some violations of the rights of belonging to political parties which does not please UPND.
The credibility of the report is questionable as it discloses no reliable methodology used in gathering information to guard against subjectivity. Moreover, most of the alleged findings as circulated on social media is clearly a depiction of social media propaganda which once upon a time flooded the cyber space.
It is a one-sided report which discloses no information held by the government, or its agents to appreciate the progress which has been made regarding upholding the rule of law and human rights.
The reports cited selected killings by individuals who have since been arrested and indicted in the courts of law while others have faced appropriate disciplinary action.
A careful study of the report clearly finds Amnesty International for willfully neglecting to appreciate the efforts of the government in upholding human rights through establishing institutions and strengthening the existing legal framework to protect human rights.
Some of the examples includes amendments to the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act no. 2 of 2016 which enhanced the office of the Public Protector, Human Rights Commission, Zambia Police as well as the autonomy of some institutions of governance.
There are also judicial reforms such as the establishment of the Constitutional Court as the specialised court of constitutional interpretation and provide oversight functions of the institutions of governance.
The AI also neglected to appreciate that the issue of security of tenure is a constitutionally entrenched matter unlike under the pre-2016 Constitutional era.
It is also shocking how the report single handedly found the state wanting yet it did not include the violence and killings perpetrated by the UPND.
For instance, after the 2016 elections, there was widespread violence in Namwala and other parts of Southern Province against those who were perceived to be supporters of the PF.
What is the position of AI also regarding incidences such as police abduction by former Sesheke Member of Parliament Romeo Kang’ombe, an offence he was convicted and serving a suspended sentence?
What is AI saying on other inflammatory proclamations such as “panga for panga” and “armageddon?” These are among the missing links in the report if it is to command the confidence among Zambians who are the true witness to the developments that have taken place in the country.
AI would have done well to be sincere that the objective of the report was to document “human rights violations against their preferred political party.”
Therefore the report has glaring inconsistencies and the bias as fundamental developments of Zambian Constitutional developments are conspicuously missing from the report yet they took place within the place under review. It consists mainly of carefully selected incidents that are necessary to drive a particular narrative and possibly influence public debate.
MARVIN CHANDA MBERI,
Lusaka.
Author
