ZAMBIA POLICE ‘MISLEADS’ ITSELF: ‘DON’T BEAT AND TEAR-GAS HUNGRY AND ANGRY PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY CAN RISE UP AGAINST HH AND REMOVE HIM PREMATURELY’, ECL WARNED POLICE AND HIS UTTERANCES ARE NOT SEDITIOUS OR CRIMINAL AT ALL
By Dr. Chris Zumani Zimba
Let us watch this video together and make independent decisions than being misled as we discuss only 12 points:
1. After the city council inspector confiscated his only income generating machine and refused to release it, Mohamed Bouazizi doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire and died. This is what triggered an uprising in Tunisia in December, 2010 countrywide and saw the ousting of President Ben Ali in January, 2011 as he was blamed for high unemployment, poverty, economic hardships, and council police brutality against street vendors.
2. What happened in Tunisia in 2011 is exactly what president Lungu was reminding and advising the police. The context of President Lungu’s interview was necessitated by police brutality at Kabwata police, prevailing hunger, high cost of living, staple food scarcity, unnecessary police provocation, citizen anger and possible civil uprisings against a government.
3. In 2015, Former US Senator, Pat Roberts said “Show me a nation that cannot feed itself, and I’ll show you a nation in chaos”. Today, Zambia is facing a staple food crisis and national hunger is the word.
4. We sold our maize reserves, there are no rains, famine is looming, mealie meal is becoming too expensive each day, and many people are hungry and angry. Look, these are economic conditions of what existed in Tunisia in 2010 before the uprising.
5. In 2017, the World Food Program USA (WFP) produced a report on “food-related instability” in the US and linked ways that ‘hunger drives conflict’. With high cost of living, food shortages and this national hunger, President Lungu’s warning to Zambia police’s violent and inhumane treatment of hungry and angry citizens is timely and beneficial to President Hakainde’s rule and government.
6. In 2023, British Red Cross confirmed that “Soaring food prices, conflict and climate change are plunging Africa into a severe food crisis with plus 150 million people facing extreme hunger”. Since Zambia is part of this situation, the police must know that harassing and tear gassing hungry people like they did at Kabwata police is politically very dangerous for this UPND government of HH.
7. Hungry and angry people easily raise up like they did in Tunisia in 2011. If the police keep on harassing and beating up innocent citizens like we saw at Kabwata police station, the same police will be directly undermining law and order and peaceful coexistence because hungry and angry citizens are too dangerous everywhere and anywhere.
8. In countries like Venezuela, Iran, Tunisia, South Africa, Libya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and many others, we have seen how street protests or uprisings were initiated and championed by people who were agitated, irritated and irked by their own governments of which the police were the main triggers and catalysts. This is where President Lungu’s warning must be taken serious by the UPND government and everyone.
9. President Lungu’s statement was conditional: if police brutal behavior is not adjusted against citizens, it has the potential to trigger citizen protests, chaos and consequently force HH to step down prematurely.
10. ECL’s statement was a strong caution to the police not to provoke and anger people’s emotions anyhow because many are already struggling with economic hardships, are unhappy and depressed. This is objective, sound and practical advice to any government.
11. Therefore, my appeal to Zambia police is that, don’t deliberately mislead yourselves concerning ECL’s statement. Don’t allow politicians to urinate on their professional integrity and institutional reputation.
12. Don’t accept to be dragged into partisan politics by anyone. This is important because, politics is like wind, it is never consistent in blowing towards one direction but ever changes directions any day, anytime.
Dr Chris ZUMANI Zimba is a Political Scientist, Researcher, Author & Consultant specialized in Comparative Global Governance and Democratic Theories. He holds a PhD, MA, BA and Cert in Political Science. Zimba was President Lungu’s Political Advisor from December 2019 to August 2021. By philosophical approach, Dr. Zimba is a Pan Africanist as well as Afro-Christian by religion.
Email:chriszumaniZimba.cz@gmail.com