AMB MWAMBA SUES ATTORNEY GENERAL AND 3 POLICE OFFICERS THAT BRUTALISED HIM
LUSAKA- Wednesday, 24th October 2023
Former Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and former Permanent Representative to the African Union, Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba has sued Government in the Lusaka High Court for the injuries caused on him by State agents from the Zambia Police.
Mwamba has also sued, in their personal capacity, Steven Simweenda, Brian Chipango and Joseph Kapasa, police officers from the Criminal Investigations Department at Zambia Police Service Headquarters, that brutalized him and inflicted injuries on him.
Mwamba is demanding that the high court declares unlawful the conduct of the state agents who physically assaulted him and injured him in violation of Article 11 of the Constitution of Zambia.
He is also demanding that the manhandling and bundling that made him suffer various injuries inflicted by the state agents amounted to torture and inhumane treatment and where in violation of Article 15 of the Constitution.
He also demanded that the state compensates him for the torture, assault and battery and any other relief the Court may deem fit for such a case.
He has also demanded for damages for the mental and emotional distress the brutal actions has caused him.
In a legal suit filed on October 19th,2023 in the Lusaka High Court by his lawyers, Makebi Zulu Advocates, Mwamba has narrated how he was brutalized at a car wash in Woodlands on 14th June 2023 around 15;30, when about 12 men turned up in 3 separate cars and demanded that they go with him.
Mr Mwamba said the officers did not identify themselves as police officers and did not show any identification.
He stated that when the men demanded to go with him, he asked that he could call and inform his lawyer or a family member.
He stated that it was at this stage that the men brutally attacked him where his phone was grabbed from him and he was forced and pushed towards the car.
He stated that various personal items including bank cards, NRC, Driver’s license, car keys, diplomatic cards were seized from him and to date have not been returned.
He has stated that the entire ordeal left him with a knocked out a tooth, injuries on his thumb, wrist, neck and shoulders. He also stated that he also sustained bruises.
He stated that to date, the pain on his neck side has never subsided despite several treatments.
He also stated that he was detained at Emasdale Police Station for 3 days and was denied access to medical treatment so that he could be treated for the injuries inflicted on him by the officers.
He stated that during the entire time of detention, despite repeated requests, he was denied access to medical treatment, water and food.
He also stated that he was denied access to see his lawyers or his family during the first the two days.
Mwamba has stated that these actions by the Zambia Police and the police officers breached his fundamental rights and freedoms, and violated various articles of the Zambian Constitution were violated.
He stated that Article 11 of the Constitution of Zambia was violated as the officers assaulted him, physically injured him and confiscated personal items, and denied him access to his family and legal representation.
He stated that the right to protection and right to personal liberty is guaranteed by the Constitution.
He stated that this was violated by the treatment and detention and was a violation of Article 13 of the Constitution.
He stated that the forceful manhandling and bundling him into a vehicle amounted to torture inflicted on him by the 3 officers, which violated his fundamental right to protection against inhuman treatment as guaranteed under Article 15 of the Constitution of Zambia.
He stated that the action to grab his phone and confiscate his phone, and personal items such as bank cards, NRC, Driver’s licence and other items violated his right to property, right to privacy and other rights guaranteeing right to property as provided under Article 15 &16 of the Republican Constitution.
He stated that the action to deny him legal representation was a violation of the protection of the law and was contrary to Article 18 of the Constitution.
Mwamba stated that he had taken the court action against the State as the criminal complaint he filed against the 3 officers at Woodlands Police Station where a docket was opened against the Police Officers who assaulted and tortured him has not been acted upon and the officers have never been arrested and despite providing medical evidence of the inflicted injuries.
He also stated that a complaint he filed against the 3 Police Officers at the Police and Public Complaints Commission has also not been heard four months after it was filed.
