SIMON Zukas has asked the government to explain who instructed police officers to shoot innocent people.
State prosecutor Nsama Nsama and UPND member Joseph Kaunda were on Wednesday shot dead in cold blood by the Zambia Police Service.
Ina statement yesterday, Zukas, who is Our Civic Duty Association board chairperson, condemned the shooting and further sought answers on who instructed police to aim for the head of one of the victims.
“On behalf of Our Civic Duty Association (OCIDA), I strongly condemn the use of live ammunition by the police in controlling crowd gatherings. We want to know the following: Do the police have rules of engagement for such an event?” asked Zukas. “Who gave the orders to the police unit to proceed to control the crowd? How many live bullets were issued to, or drawn by, the unit? What instructions were issued when issuing those bullets? Did these instruct the officer ‘to aim at the head’? Were these officers trained ‘snipers’? Were any directions or instructions given given to the police hierarchy by the Minister of Home Affairs?”
Meanwhile, Civil Society Organisations say it is distressing that the Zambia Police resorts to use of brutal force, each time it is attempting to control crowds.
The CSOs has demanded a change in the police’s approach to forestalling crowd trouble.
The concerned CSOs are ActionAid Zambia (AAZ), Alliance for Community Action (ACA), Caritas Zambia, Chapter One Foundation, and Civil Society Constitution Agenda (CiSCA).
Others are Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD), Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z), and Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD).
“We are concerned that use of brutal force appears to be the first resort whenever the Zambia Police are attempting to control crowds,” the CSOs stated, in a statement signed by Chapter One Foundation executive director Linda Kasonde.
“In February 2020, we witnessed the killing of a schoolboy, Frank Mugala, who was killed in a similar incidence and before that the killing of university student Vespers Shimunzhila and many other incidents at the hands of the police.”
They stated that actions of the police in firing live rounds in a crowd of unarmed protesters and killing Zambians is a violation of Zambians’ fundamental rights to life, freedom of expression and freedom of association.”
They stated that the actions of the police also violated its constitutional mandate to protect lives, ensure the security of people, promote a good relationship with the members of society and to uphold the Bill of Rights.
The CSOs added that in any functioning democracy, citizens had the constitutional right to freely assemble and associate.
“We note the heavily armed police presence on the streets surrounding the police headquarters including armoured vehicles, and military helicopters,” they stated. “As crowds gathered in support of Mr Hichilema, the police fired teargas and live ammunition to disperse the crowd. As a result, two unarmed citizens, Mr Nsama Nsama and Mr Joseph Kaunda, were shot dead by the police.”
The CSOs strongly condemned the senseless killing by police of Nsama, “a hapless bystander,” and Kaunda.
“The use of live ammunition by the Zambia Police Service against unarmed citizens was excessive, careless, and avoidable, and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” they stated. “We urge the Zambia Police Service to exercise restraint in this particularly sensitive period leading up to the 2021 general elections to allow for an environment in which free and fair elections can be held.”
They also reminded the police of its constitutional mandate to protect Zambians and to act in a way which resulted in an improved relationship with the members of the Zambian society at large.
“We also call on the authorities to bring the perpetrators of this needless killing to book in the shortest possible time in the interests of justice,” the CSOs stated.
The CSOs stated that given the continued trend of unarmed citizens being killed by the police, “we are of the view that the police service has failed in its duty to protect and defend innocent citizens.”
They called on home affairs minister Stephen Kampyongo and Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja, to resign on moral grounds because: “their positions have become untenable.”
“If the two do not resign, we urge President Edgar Lungu to dismiss them for presiding over a trigger‐happy police service that appears to have no regard for human life,” stated the CSOs.
They stated that whilst loss of life could never be adequately atoned for, “we urge the State to quickly step in to compensate the families of the two victims.”