By ADRIAN MWANZA
LUSAKA lawyer, Wynter Kabimba, has petitioned President Hakainde Hichilema over his failure to honour campaign promises.
Mr Kabimba in a petition dated December 21 2021, stated that President Hichilema failed to fulfil promises on issues of freedom of expression, human rights of suspects and political cadre violence.
Mr Kabimba said a great deal of thought and dismay had engulfed him because on many occasions while Mr Hichilema was in the opposition and fell victim to the injustices frequently perpetrated against him by the PF government, he promised the Zambian people that when elected president, he would guarantee all citizens’ freedom of expression as provided by the constitution which Mr Hichilema later swore to uphold and respect.
He said one of the most obnoxious provisions in this area was the provision in the Penal Code which provided for the criminal defamation of the president.
He said this archaic provision had its roots in the country’s colonial past to protect the British monarchy and the British prime minister was not consonant with the tenets of the rule of law which the President had continued to proclaim and the fundamental right of citizens to express themselves against the wrongs he was likely to commit or omit to do as head of State.
Mr Kabimba said this provision did not exist in the statute books of the United States of America, and therefore, if he was truly a democrat as he claimed to be, he needed to promptly have the provision removed as he was neither a monarch nor a saint but a mere mortal of flesh and blood who should be subjected to criticism by citizens without hiding under the protection of the realm of criminal defamation.
Mr Kabimba also raised the issue of human rights of suspects since the country’s criminal justice system was anchored on the principle that a person was presumed innocent until proven guilty by an impartial tribunal established by law.
“Again as a reminder to you, you cried foul about the number of times when you and other UPND members were arrested while you were in the opposition without the police and other investigating agencies observing the due process of law. Again as President, you publicly proclaimed to this nation that the police shall not detain or keep in custody any person or suspect unless and until they have fully investigated the alleged offence committed by such a person,” he said.
Mr Kabimba said however what the nation had seen in the recent past was the complete opposite as they had witnessed the rights of politicians picked up as suspects being violated with gross impunity under President Hakainde Hichilema’s watch.
“We have seen suspects of bondable offences remain in police custody for days for no good or justifiable reasons. If the police are defying your good intentions and instructions, why have you not taken actions or come out to publicly condemn these transgressions by the police? Your loud silence as president and commander-in-chief is beginning to translate into tacit acquiescence of such open injustices,” he said.
Mr Kabimba said political cadre violence was becoming a menace and that it was overly mischievous and embarrassing for the party spokesperson during the Sunday interview edition on December, 19, 2021, to make a statement that the acts of violence perpetrated by UPND cadres at the radio station in Mpika recently and Chelstone police station last week were isolated incidents.
He wondered where Mr Mweetwa was when on more than one occasion the President stated publicly that political cadre violence would have no place in Zambia under his government?.
“I hope you realise that even the acts of violence we saw under PF started with what Zambians thought were an exception and not the norm as it later turned out to be,”
Mr Kabimba said.
