Police abusing justice system -Mmembe

…as he warns culture of unbridled arrests of suspects before gathering sufficient evidence is eroding public confidence in the justice system, says there is a risk of turning law enforcement into tools for political intimidation. By MUBITA KATETE THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Zambia Police are colluding and abusing the criminal justice system through politically motivated arrests, malicious prosecution and excessive heavyhandedness, Fred M’membe has charged. Dr M’membe, the president of the Socialist Party says law enforcement agencies should only arrest and charge citizens when they have the professional competence and evidence required to prosecute cases fairly before the courts. In a statement yesterday, Dr M’membe said the culture of unbridled arrests of suspects before gathering sufficient evidence was undermining public confidence in the justice system and risked turning law enforcement into a tool for political intimidation. “Do not try to swallow what you cannot chew,” he said, warning authorities against instituting charges they were not prepared to prosecute. Dr M’membe, who is also a lawyer, said he was not opposed to the prosecution of individuals who broke the law but insisted that such action should be supported by credible evidence and conducted in line with constitutional safeguards. He accused the Inspector General of Police, Graphel Musamba of presiding over a police service that had abandoned professional standards in favour of what he described as political intimidation. “Under your command, professional policing has been replaced by a lazy, incompetent doctrine: arresting to investigate, instead of investigating to arrest,” Dr M’membe said. He also accused the DPP’s office of using serious charges, including treason and sedition, to circumvent constitutional protections, particularly the right to bail. Dr M’membe argued that withdrawing charges through a nolle prosequi after cases had been instituted raised questions about accountability and the treatment of affected citizens. “This is not prosecution; it is persecution,” he said. He also held President Hakainde Hichilema responsible for the conduct of the police and prosecution authorities, arguing that the President should be accountable for the actions of officials serving under his administration. “The buck stops with you,” Dr M’membe said, adding that the President could not distance himself from alleged abuses committed by his appointees. He called for an immediate end to what he termed an amateurish and malicious approach to law enforcement, insisting that citizens should not be deprived of their liberty without sufficient legal grounds. “The Socialist Party will not sit idly by while the institutions of justice are reduced to a playground for state-sponsored malice,” Dr M’membe said.

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