SUBJECT: DETORIARIATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ZAMBIA-THE CASE OF HON. MUMBI PHIRI AND OTHERS
Mrs. Hon. Mumbi Phiri is a member of the Opposition party, the Patriotic Front. She is a former Member of Parliament for Munali Constituency in Lusaka. She is also a former Deputy Secretary General of the Party.
In February 2022, Hon. Mumbi Phiri was charged and arrested for murder. She was subjected to a trial and was imprisoned for over 428 days.
The charges against her were false but she suffered this incarceration.
Hon. Mumbi has once again been arrested and charged with armed robbery, false charges that arise from her brave act to expose and attempt to stop electoral fraud in the Kawambwa by-election that was being perpetrated by Minister of Green Economy and Environment, Mike Mposha.
The case of Hon. Mumbi is not different from the false and fabricated charges that have been concocted and preferred against members of the Opposition;
1. Socialist Party President Dr, Fred Mmembe- Charged with Sedition.
2. Given Lubinda- Charged and arrested for refusing to attend to the Committee on parliamentary privileges and failure to surrender passport.
3. Patriotic Front Secretary General, Hon. Raphael Nakacinda -Hate Speech, Sedition, Criminal Defamation.
4. Patriotic Front Chairperson for Information and Publicity and Presidential Candidate, Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba charged with sedition, assaulting a police officer after he was brutalized and beaten by the same police officers, and for disorderly conduct at the police station.
5. FDD President Edith Nawakwi-Arrested for espionage and seditious practices.
6. Lumezi Member of Parliament, Hon. Munir Zulu- Criminal Defamation, Hate Speech and Seditious Practices.
7. Mfuwe MP, Hon. Maureen Mabonga-Seditious Practices.
8. Civil Society Activist, Brebner Changala- Seditious practices.
9. Christian Democratic Party President, Dr. Danny Pule- Hate speech Patriots for and seditious practices.
10. Patriots for Economic Progress (PEP) President, Sean Tembo-Hate Speech, Criminal Defamation.
11. Patriotic Front Member of the Central Committee and Presidential Candidate, Hon. Chishimna Kambwili-Hate Speech and Criminal Defamation.
12. Patriotic Front Eastern Province Information Secretary, Rizwan Patel and two others- charged with aggravated robbery.
13. A large number of social-media bloggers, and vloggers have been arrested and prosecuted for their criticism of government.
The action by the Zambia Police to be used to clamp down on members of the Opposition is part of the larger goal to seriously destabilize the Opposition ahead of the 2026 elections, render it extremely weak and eliminate strong contenders against President Hakainde Hichilema.
Both the Zambia Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions have refused to prosecute persons such as the Minister of Education, Mr. Douglas Siakalima who has publicly issued tribal remarks and hate speech against the people of Luapula and Bembas, and a UPND youth from Northwestern Province Chikokela Moses who has pledged to eliminate the life of the former President, Edgar Lungu.
Further, President Hakainde Hichilema, and the Zambia Police have refused to deal with persons at State House implicated in the abduction and torture of Petauke Central Member of Parliament, Emmanuel Jay Banda.
Further President Hichilema has engaged in malicious actions that have obliterated the independence and autonomy of democratic institutions and has severely undermined the separation of powers among the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary which are under firmly under the control and direction of the Executive.
This is exemplified by the action of the Constitutional Court, acting on a petition from a UPND Youth, Michelo Chizombe and perpetrated y Government to stop and prevent former President Edgar Lungu from participating in presidential elections.
Further members of the Opposition have been incarcerated and denied the right to appeal and prevented from obtaining bail pending appeal thereby breaching their fundamental right to appeal and right to innocence until the process is completed.
Zambia has recently been cited and recorded for flagrantly breaching human rights, shrinking the media and democratic space, restrict operations of the Opposition. These reports are contained in the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, the United States Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have expressed concern about this sadden development.
These autocratic and dictatorial actions by the Government of President Hakainde Hichilema, have undermined Zambia’s national peace and security and places it on a dangerous course of possible civil unrest and instability.
It is imperative that organisations and entities such as yours, record, recognize and speak against these human rights abuses and threats against Zambia’s democracy to promote nationhood, peace and security in Zambia and the region.
Further it is important that diplomatic and international pressure is brought to bear to have Hon. Mumbi Phiri to be released and charges against her and other members of the Opposition be dropped.
Hon.Raphael Nakacinda
Secretary General
PATRIOTIC FRONT
Scruffy Individual what first comes to mind
Vacillating between anti-imperialism and cozying up to the same imperialists to save them from alleged human rights abuse. How ironic!
You did exactly the same. Your replacement promised never to do what you did. They are now worse than you guys. One tern is sufficient as we don’t need liers at the helm. We need integrity.
To some dergree I do agree
Criminals complaining about anti criminal activities by GRZ………
FWD2031
There is a saying dont throw stones when you live in glass houses
There is time for everything, their day of reckoning will certainly come.
Kicks of a dying horse. Mulenya mulelapila.
Frankly, whatever happens to PF and its people is fair game.
Kindness kills. The same people New Dawn was hesitant to prosecute in the name of National Building and reconciliation are now playing victims and in a big way. A lesson for the future. At the end of the day the country called Zambia is not working. Best we go to the old boundaries of 1911 in order to avert an eminent civil war.
Let the law take its course over any law transgression, individual opinion matters less as the law is blind focused on justice. So, even if you run to Ghana the law will wait for you and further mate a punitive measure for abbrogating the law. That’s the fate of Mumbi Phiri and Raphael Nakachinda.
Tell the international community what was alleged to be seditious so that the international community also knows how petty the opposition is, and the nonsense they are saying which has attracted the charges.