SIKAILE C.SIKAILE WRITES
LUNGU, CHULU AND SHINDANO ARE BEING MISCHIEVOUS AS THEY EYE TO SET THE COUNTRY INTO FLAMES BY ALL POSSIBLE MEANS
The excitement of prisoners registering to vote, is it about respect for human rights? speaking as an expert in human rights protection, I want to categorically state that the PF government wants to abuse inmates. Of late we have seen the ECZ in conjunction with PF go into overdrive to register prisoners to vote at the same time denying million citizens out side prisons chances to registerto vote. On the surface you may think the PF may have started to respect human rights, but in reality they are too far away from this level. Of course not, the PF is interested in the numbers and they know that they will abuse these inmates to their benefits.
We have consistently highlighted the rigging schemes by PF government and ECZ. Why didn’t PF call upon Zambians in the diaspora to vote, instead they opted to register prisoners? They know that inmates will have no voice and they will not allow the opposition see what is going in prisons.
If you look at the reason they advanced for deleting the old register is that people may have died. Now the PF has turned out our penitentiaries into poling stations. So, the prisoners have to vote in their jail cell. One would wonder, who will be given the clearance to conduct voting in these fortified security buildings? Only PF and the acting finance ministers know the answer. But, what is certain is any movement of a prisoner is under a close watch of a guardjere. In this case a prisoner cannot isolate even for a second without a watchful eye of guardjere, lest he launches an escape. For this reason in the Booth, the prisoner won’t be alone but, with a prison warder to intimidate him/her on who to vote for. After all in Monze the commissioner General for prisons had set out direction on who to allow in prisons. This is our concerns, we are headed for a,serious security threat in this coming General election if PF and ECZ continue with this arrogance.
When people turn blind on security issues only a disaster can open their eyes. A voting pen and pencil in the hands of a prisoner is weapon of mass distraction.Any way, people have to know, it is not the voting of prisoners the ECZ and PF are interested in. It is the numbers of registered voters for their rigging data base which has been installed at state house connected to main ECZ savers.
Let’s look at the prisoners voting this way, today we register inmates. Every day that passes, a prisoner is moving towards doing their time. Unless PF tells us that from today until 12 August, 2021 no prisoner will be released until they vote. However, this may not be the case. The rules will keep on, everyday there will be prisoners walking to freedom. Some will be removed on parole by the parole board.
In short, if 21000 prisoners are captured during the registration. By the time we vote 16,000 would have done their time and relocated to other jurisdictions where they would not want to come back and vote. The Question is why the fussy of registering prisoners Mr Lungu? The answer is in the myopic planning by PF armatures, who just think Zambians don’t think. On the day of elections, prison facilities are earmarked for rigging.
They will be so restricted that even observers, let alone election agents will not be given access to monitor within these premises, PFs only hope. So the government, ECZ and prisons commissioner General will do as they please. Looking at how PF armed thugs in military uniforms have been manning polling station since 2015, what will happen when we combine this group of unruly people with inmates?
Our only consolation in “Operation Kampyongo”, is fair that for the first time we will have Biodata for all the convicts in Zambia. Our police officers will have a Field day once they are released and commit other offences by using ECZ database they will be tracked.
For interest groups: NGO’s, Civil society organizations, the Church and opposition political parties. This issue of inmates registering as voters must be stopped forthwith through a political action. Our job is to avail information, and you find political solutions. 2021 is personal against people who keep plotting against the will of the people. What we have highlighted in this article is exactly what is going on in these prisons.
SIKAILE C. SIKAILE
GOOD GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
BY CIC PRESS TEAM