HH must step down over human rights abuses—Chanda
…he has failed, says Gen Z protestor in Zambia
Lusaka Central Police—10.09.24
Chanda Chikwanka, the 22-year-old activist arrested and detained by police in Zambia for protesting the escalating cost of living in Zambia, has been released from police detention after 13 days.
Chanda, an UNZA graduate in public administration currently pursuing a master’s degree at the same university, has come out of detention fighting and vowed to fight more for a better Zambia.
“I personally feel president Hichilema must resign if he can’t arrest the high cost of living and instead opt to arrest people like me that choose to fight against hardships,” Chikwanka said on release from Lusaka Central police detention centre.
Released along her is Jayson Mwanza and Thomas Zulu, belonging to a small group of Gen Z youths in Zambia that are concerned about a broken Zambian economy and abject poverty.
“We are concerned about the high cost of fuel in Zambia, prolonged load shedding or power blackouts lasting beyond two days or more we are concerned about high unemployment levels and since President Hichilema can’t handle this he must step down and give an opportunity to those that can,” Chikwanka said after going without a bath for almost two weeks.
Her 13-day detention without bail and access to lawyers was thrust into the public spotlight by a visit from political activist Edith Nawakwi on Sunday morning alongside another activist, Brebner Changala and Emmanuel Mwamba
Recently, a United Nations report described the Zambian human rights situation in Zambia as deplorable, a case that was frowned upon by government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa who said Zambia does not have a bad human rights record even in the face of detentions such as the one of Chikwanda, Mwanza and Zulu.
“We will not stop fighting for a better Zambia no matter how many arrests we may face at the hands and power of president Hichilema because this is our country and no matter how young we are we have a voice,” said Chikwanka.
Nonsense.
UKAnkala pa bwino, Po yipa paitana
Please, breaking the is not a human right anywhere in the world. It’s like the young men don’t even know human rights violations because they have not seen them. Let them try any of these countries, Russia, China, Uganda, Rwanda, North Korea and Zimbabwe, they will be taught the difference between human rights and human hooliganism. They don’t tolerate nonsense there, you can disappear faster than you appear and that will be end of you. We are staying peacefully in the country together with their sponsors, what human rights violations are they talking about? We don’t want indiscipline and hooliganism in our country, natural disasters like droughts, floods, typhoons, haricanes, earthquakes etc are not pro-testable. Without the drought, where was load shedding going to come from? Without the reckless borrowing and general plunder of the economy by the previous administration, where was high cost of living going to come from?
Public administration degree has not educated this young man. The President is not responsible for the cost of your iphone young man! His responsibility is to enact laws that level the field so that you and any other young man in Zambia can have an equal opportunity to attain your potential. That is why giving you meal allowance and free education is there. Prices, young sir, will come down when production increases. Try doing Economics 110.
These boys and girls are enjoying too much freedom and have become drunk with it and indisciplined.
Just watching in disbelief! The young boy and girl , mere Children , detained for 13 DAYS without bond just for a peaceful protest over the state of our economy…the high cost of living, unbearable Load Shedding and high fuel prices.The right to peaceful assembly and expression becomes sedition to Hakainde and his Praise Thugs.
Even at the height of Dr Kaunda’s Tyranny we never used to see this. This is the Lowest we have fallen as a country..
May the Opposition Parties and Awake NGOs develop a Rapid Response Pro – Bono legal services unit to attend to the many victims of detention under this Government, whose despotism is becoming more ‘rabid’ each passing day. The western embassies have chosen to look away, and are complicit to the rot happening in the Country.
At this rate the despot may start detaining babies, the suckling and toddlers for sedition…Iyee!
Mu Zambia mulangala sana. Why do we have to applaud lawlessness. This chap has spoken so well and he should now also speak about the last 4 years of the PF regime.