ABOUT THE POLICE SHOOTING DEBATE: WHY NOW?- Sean Tembo

ABOUT THE POLICE SHOOTING DEBATE: WHY NOW?

By Sean Tembo – PeP President

Is this the first time that the Police are killing suspects? The answer is no. Just last week, the Police killed five other suspects in the Copperbelt in Mushindano District. Did we condemn that? The answer is no. So, why now? Why are we condemning this particular police shooting in Chibolya and yet, we did not condemn previous Police shootings?

Before anyone goes on a tangent trying to explain the authority that Police have to kill, please note that we are not challenging the existence of that authority, no. What we are challenging are the circumstances in which that authority should be exercised. In the Copperbelt case, we did not condemn the Police because we feel that they were justified in their use of force, because of the fact that the suspects had multiple firearms. Those firearms were clearly displayed by the Police. Additionally, the suspects were clearly hardened criminals who were at a hideout in Mushindano District, and proceeded to commit criminal acts in Chingola, Solwezi and surrounding districts. The evidence presented was strong, that these were hardened criminals and the Police story of exchange of fire sounds credible.

To the contrary, the recent Lusaka case is totally different. If you pay attention to the Police statement, the Police arrested one of their members in Kalikiliki but were subsequently attacked and the suspect that they had arrested was fled. That altercation resulted in the alleged assault of Inspector Mweenda. This mob is said to have then travelled to Chibolya, and the Police in Mtendere, together with reinforcements from C5, followed them there.

At this point, you can tell that these are junkies who are probably high on some substances. What the Police needed here is some crowd control techniques. Instead of seeking reinforcements from C5, they should have sought reinforcements from Riot Police. When you go in places such as Chibolya, you’ll deal with a mob that will have little regard for the Police, but that doesn’t mean you need to shoot people dead. You just need to employ sound crowd control measures, and you need to have numbers in terms of Police officers.

To me, the shooting dead of those five boys in Chibolya, sounds more like revenge by the Police, for the alleged assault occasioned earlier on Inspector Mweenda. The Police Public Relations Officer did not say anything about an exchange of fire and he also admitted that there were no firearms found among the suspects. So the circumstances clearly did not justify the killing.

Even if the Police were compelled to use force, it didn’t have to be deadly force. With a rifle, unlike a handgun, you can shoot someone wherever you want to shoot them. So you can aim for the legs and easily immobilize the suspects, and then take them to hospital. I want to draw your attention to a similar incident that happened in Livingstone, a few months ago. Some UPND cadres became unruly and started harassing a Police Officer, who was armed. He opened fire on the cadres and shot 3 of them in the legs. They were then taken to Livingstone General Hospital, and I believe that today, they are recuperating.

Some may have lost their legs, but they are alive. Lives were preserved. To me, that’s an appropriate use of force, under the circumstances. The Lusaka Police could have employed a similar tactic, given the circumstances. But they decided to waste five lives for no good reason. Just because one of their own was earlier assaulted. Such conduct should not be encouraged by any well meaning citizen. I submit.

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SET 11.04.2026