THERE ARE NO ARBITRARY ARRESTS IN ZAMBIA, BUT LAWFUL INVESTIGATIONS ON SUSPECTED CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES
There is a sustained and increasingly mischievous campaign by some citizens and sections of the opposition-aligned media to portray legitimate investigations by Zambia’s security and law-enforcement agencies as a programme of arbitrary arrests targeted at particular individuals.
This narrative is false, misplaced and potentially dangerous. It deliberately blurs the important distinction between arbitrary arrest and lawful investigation.
Zambia is a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law.
Political affiliation, public prominence or claims of persecution cannot confer immunity from lawful investigation where competent authorities have reasonable grounds to investigate suspected criminal conduct or threats to national security.
The matters presently attracting public attention must therefore be viewed in their proper context.
There have been reports and allegations concerning the discovery of high-grade military weapons at private residences; claims that certain individuals received specialised or mercenary-style training abroad; public statements expressing a willingness to kill fellow Zambians should an election not produce a preferred outcome; calls for harm against, or the assassination of, a sitting Head of State; and conduct purporting to declare a presidential outcome before the conclusion of the electoral process by the constitutionally mandated authority.
These are not trivial matters. They touch directly upon the security of the Republic, the integrity of constitutional government, and the safety of the Zambian people.
Where credible information concerning such matters comes to the attention of the State it is the responsibility of any legitimate and responsible government to take interest and act accordingly.
When security agencies move to establish the facts, secure possible evidence, identify persons of interest and determine whether offences have been committed, how does the very act of investigation become arbitrary?
Investigations must be allowed to proceed professionally, impartially and within the law. Where sufficient evidence exists, the matter belongs before the courts; where it does not, the law must take its course accordingly.
Loss of life arising in circumstances connected to security operations or investigations is deeply regrettable. Every human life has value. Expressions of regret, however, should not be manipulated into a justification for obstructing legitimate enquiries into potentially grave threats to national security.
It is equally troubling when individuals sought for lawful enquiry evade the investigative process and then portray the very existence of that enquiry as political persecution. Flight into other foreign jurisdictions should not be converted into evidence that an investigation is arbitrary. The facts must be established through due process.
We therefore urge the growing ranks of self-appointed experts commenting across every available medium to exercise responsibility. Human rights are fundamental to our democracy, but they must never be invoked carelessly as a shield for suspected criminal conduct or as a pretext for weakening the institutions charged with protecting the Republic.
We are particularly disappointed by those who, from the comfort and security of foreign jurisdictions, recklessly encourage narratives capable of undermining law and order at home. There is little moral courage in inflaming tensions from afar while ordinary Zambians would bear the consequences of instability.
Those genuinely committed to human rights must defend both liberty and the rule of law. They must defend the rights of suspects to due process, but they must equally defend the right of every Zambian to live without fear of political violence, assassination, armed destabilisation or unconstitutional seizure of power.
The State has a solemn constitutional duty to protect the Republic of Zambia, its democratic institutions and, above all, its people. That responsibility cannot be abandoned simply because legitimate security investigations are politically inconvenient to some.
Our security and law-enforcement agencies must therefore be allowed to establish the truth, subject always to the Constitution and the law.
Zambia’s democracy will be protected not by weakening the rule of law, but by applying it firmly and without fear or favour.
The rights of citizens must be protected. The security of the Republic must be protected. Neither obligation cancels the other.
Clayson Hamasaka,
Communication Specialist
State House