By ADRIAN MWANZA
Reported torture of suspects is evil and against Christian principles and President Hakainde Hichilema should put a stop to this, overseer of Christian Family Church Bishop John Mambo has said.
And Lusaka Archbishop Alick Banda has said that it is incorrect for political parties in power to use the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), and the Police to settle personal and political scores and to prevent political as well as business rivals from organising and operating freely.
“If this trend continues, then our country will be headed for self-destruction if it is not there already,” Dr Banda has warned.
And Bishop Mambo has challenged the Church to speak out and condemn vices like torture that are currently being experienced in recent days of people who are being investigated.
He said the tortures needed to stop because it was evil and that the President needed to ensure that he puts a stop to that.
Recently, reports of police brutality have been recorded including one in Mansa where UPND national youth deputy chairperson for administration Stephen Chikota and former President Edgar Lungu’s barber, Shabby Chilekwa were tortured.
Bishop Mambo said the Catholic Archbishop of Lusaka, Bishop Alick Banda was on point by speaking against the arbitrary arrests and torture of individuals who were under investigation.
“President Hichilema was arrested more than 15 times and the treatment was bad and that he needed to act so that no other human being could go through such,” he said.
Bishop Mambo said Zambia was a Christian nation and therefore the need to stay away from vices like torture because they were not Christian.
He said that he was hoping that the people who were in detention would be given treatment and even an opportunity to defend themselves in the courts of law and not to be treated like animals.
“I’m aware there are elements that are trying to take advantage of the situation by ensuring that they take the law in their own hands by torturing people at will without following the correct procedure,” Bishop Mambo said.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Banda said the use of force and intimidation was no solution and if this trend continued, it would only create enmity, resentment, and bitterness.
He said this would have a spiral effect of revenge at the turn of government.
He said the foregoing was exacerbated by patronage and intimidation of perceived political opponents and persons associated with the former government.
He said the use of state machinery such as ACC, DEC, and the Police in intimidating the citizenry had become the order of the day.
Archbishop Banda said only genuine and sincere investigations for wrongdoing could yield results and not witch-hunting. “Can the ACC, DEC, and Police be professional for once and for all.”
He said the country seemed to be at crossroads as a Nation about investigations on perceived corruption of the former government.
As a result, he said, there was some lack of decorum, deception, manipulation, wanton trespassing, double standards, cyber bullying and surging criminal activities.
