Haimbe responds to claims of democratic space shrinkage

Haimbe responds to claims of democratic space shrinkage

THE Minister of Justice, Mulambo Haimbe, has dismissed allegations of the country’s democratic space shrinking under the government.

Haimbe asserted during the ZNBC Sunday Interview that the democratic space in Zambia has not diminished and that the claims were without merit.

The backdrop for these remarks comes as a consortium of civil society organizations, alongside some stakeholders, voiced concerns about the state of democratic freedoms in the country.

They argued that public authorities and institutions are failing to uphold the rights to assembly and expression, making comparisons to the previous administration.

But Haimbe said the baseline for determining a democratic space’s shrinkage needed to be established and that, from the government’s perspective, no such shrinkage had occurred.

“You have to have come from a position where you had a lot and then it’s reducing for you to be able to say that the space is shrinking. Now, I’ll ask the question with due respect to the various stakeholders that have spoken. I would ask the question is, what is that lot that we had, which is now becoming less?” Questioned Haimbe.

He emphasized that the government had made significant progress in ensuring that everyone could enjoy their civil and political rights.

The minister pointed to improvements in various aspects of democracy, including freedom of expression, the absence of extrajudicial killings, and the freedom to hold public events and processions.

Haimbe also addressed the issue of amending key laws, including the Public Order Act and Access to Information Bill, which were promised by the government but have faced delays.

He explained that the delays were due to the necessary legislative process and the government’s commitment to avoiding oppressive use of these laws.

“Even though the law itself (public order act) may not be the best law to have on your starting book, but we are doing all we can within a bad situation to avoid weaponising that law the way it was weaponised before.”

On the claim that the government was fixated on comparing itself to the previous administration, Haimbe asserted that such comparisons were being made because the shrinkage narrative implied that the current government was making things worse.

He emphasized that the government was benchmarking itself against internationally accepted standards.

The minister also defended the actions of the police in managing public events, stating that manpower and security considerations were vital.

Haimbe maintained the government’s commitment to upholding civil and political rights and its willingness to engage with stakeholders to address concerns constructively.

“We seem to forget very easily, that the very stakeholders that you have referred to, including our colleagues from the diplomatic corps, have more than the number of times given kudos to this government for being very diligent in ensuring that the democratic space expands.”

By Moses Makwaya

Kalemba