Rights activist Brebner Changala says HH lied
…to get the vote from Zambians
By CAMNET TV-04.07.23
Brebner Changala, the voracious Zambian civil and human rights activist has accused President Hakainde Hichilema of lying to win office in the 2021 election.
Changala says going forward, Zambians must push for ´better laws´ and not ´good people´because only institutions can serve Zambians while people can change as shown by Mr Hichilema since he assumed office.
“Mr Hichilema knelt down and begged for a vote from Zambians telling them he would be a better leader but it was all lies looking at what is happening,” said Changala.
The rights activist one of the staunch and major supporters of Mr Hichilema ahead of the elections further described the President as a “loose cannon” who wont hesitate to shut down any critic.
“During the PF if an opposition leader was arrested, Mr Hichilema included,” said Changala, “the blame was placed on ECL (President Edgar Lungu) so it means if someone gets arrested now under Mr Hichilema or abducted, the President is responsible.
We need good laws not good men. People are being wrongfully detained using the same bad laws the UPND condemned but now embrace because they work for them.”
On the same programme former Ambassador to the Africa Union (AU) and Ethiopia Emmanuel Mwamba narrated his horrendous arrest and brutalisation at the hands of 12 plain clothes men purpoting to be police but did not identify themselves.
“Talking about my arrest, how I lost a tooth and possibly had my shoulder dislocated is perhaps not important at this point compared to a damning report by the Department of State in Washington that has catalogued an extensive number and incidence of human rights abuses, arbitrary arrests, and other crimes under President Hichilema over the period covering 2022 to date. He gave the case of Mumbi Phiri arrested and detained for almost eight months or 429 days before being released on a nolle prosequi.
Ambassador Mwamba also complained that accusations of forgery against him are false hence the reason he has not been taken to court up to now after being abducted like a common criminal.
“I can’t stoop from being Ambassador to forgery this is a lie deliberately thrown out there to tarnish my good name built over decades just because I have dissenting views on national issues, I speak about issues not people that’s my style of politics,” said Ambassador Mwamba.
Mwamba gave an example of other politically inclined persons such as lawmakers Christopher Shakafuswa, Munir Zulu that have been ´harassed´ in similar manner as him, even when President Hichilema promised during campaigns that arbitrary arrests with no solid evidence would be a thing of history once he assumed office.
Conversely, Changala challenged the President to explain why he brought back into active service, a retired officer and one accused to be a fugitive.
The full programme hosted by Pastor Moses Chiluba is available on youtube and Camnet TV channel.
Mwamba challenged other civil society members to speak out against ills like Changala does while Changala wondered how the Human Rights Commission that spoke loudly under President Lungu does not speak today under President Hichilema.
Ambassador Mwamba bemoaned the fact that one Commissioner Laura Miti openly laughed and mocked the Ambassador publicly for his brutal arrest and losing a tooth certified to be true by a government medical Doctor.
The former envoy also expressed shock that both the Inspector General of police and the Minister of Home Affairs Jack Mwiimbu both applauded the use ´minimum force´ against him while the law association of Zambia said minimum force use is not constitutional in Zambia, it is illegal.
Through his counsel Makebi Zulu and Corp, Mwamba has complained to the HRC, Amnesty International, Human Rights agency of the UN and the Zambia police complaints board seeking damages and an apology for his brutalisation and public humiliation.