The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has said that the actions of Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Honourable Gary Nkombo, in which he was seen ordering a woman and her children to drink the illicit traditional brew known as “kachasu” which the woman is accused of illegally brewing and selling are not only illegal but constitute a form of pre-emptive punishment against the woman, without subjecting her to the judicial process.

In a statement released to the media, LAZ said that the Minister is not an authorized officer for purposes of enforcing the provisions of the said Statute as defined under Section 2 of the Act, and as such, it was not within his mandate to purport to enforce the provisions of the Act.

LAZ has since urged

PRESS RELEASE BY THE LAW ASSOCIATION OF ZAMBIA CONDEMNING DEGRADING AND INHUMANE TREATMENT OF A WOMAN AND HER CHILDREN BY THE MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT HONOURABLE GARY NKOMBO

The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) is deeply concerned with the contents of a video circulating on social media depicting the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Honourable Gary Nkombo, MP carrying out an operation with Lusaka City Council Police officers. In the short video, the Honourable Minister is seen ordering a woman and her children to drink the illicit traditional brew known as “kachasu” which the woman is accused of illegally brewing and selling.

The Minister is heard in the video, accusing the woman of trying to “kill” other people’s children in an apparent vengeful justification for his ordering the said woman and her children to drink from a cup containing the said substance.

While LAZ does not condone any activity from any person which is contrary to the provisions of the law, LAZ expects that Government and all its officials, Ministers included, to obey the laws of the land even when dealing with citizens accused of breaking the law.

In terms of Section 34(1) of the Liquor Licensing Act No. 20 of 2011, the manufacture or production of any alcoholic drink without a licence is prohibited. Further, Section 34(2) of the same Act prescribes a fine where a person is convicted of the offence.

However, we note that the Minister is not an authorized officer for purposes of enforcing the provisions of the said Statute as defined under Section 2 of the Act, and as such, it was not within his mandate to purport to enforce the provisions of the Act.

LAZ strongly condemns the Honourable Minister’s actions, which are not only illegal, but constitute a form of pre-emptive punishment against the woman, without subjecting her to the judicial process. This is contrary to the presumption of innocence enshrined under Article 18(2) of the Constitution. Additionally, the humiliating conduct amounting to degrading treatment or punishment is expressly prohibited under Article 15 of the Bill of Rights as guaranteed by the Constitution.

It is the view of LAZ that the actions of the Honourable Minister undermines the Rule of Law and Constitutionalism in the country. We, therefore, urge government officials to desist from executing their functions in an arbitrary manner, but instead execute their official duties within the confines of the law whilst respecting rights of the citizens of this country.

Dated this 27th day of April, 2022.

________________________________
Sokwani Peter Chilembo

The Zambia National Women’s Lobby (ZNWL) condemns the harassment of a woman and her children by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr Gary Nkombo, during a raid on brewers of Kachasu, an illegal alcoholic brew.

In a statement released to the media by the organisation’s National Chairperson Ms Daisy Nkhata Ng’ambi, ZNWL said that Mr Nkombo abused his power and position as a leader to victimize a vulnerable woman and that this is not acceptable conduct by a leader.

ZNWL said that while it acknowledged that the brewing and sale of Kachasu are illegal and do not by any means support it as a business, they are quick to add that, they do not believe that it was necessary to humiliate the woman and others found selling the brew, especially in full view of cameras and onlookers.

Below is the full statement

ZNWL CONDEMNS THE HARASSMENT OF THE WOMAN AND HER CHILDREN BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTER GARY NKOMBO

The Zambia National Women’s Lobby (ZNWL) condemns the harassment of a woman and her children by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr. Gary Nkombo, during a raid on brewers of Kachasu, an illegal alcoholic brew.
Mr. Nkombo who was in Garden Compound, forced a woman who was found brewing the highly potent Kachasu brew to consume it and further forced her children who were present to do the same. The Minister’s actions are a violation of human rights and an endangerment of the children. The Minister’s actions put the health of the children at risk by forcing them to drink the ilicit brew.

Mr. Nkombo abused his power and position as a leader to victimize a vulnerable woman and this is not acceptable conduct by a leader.

We acknowledge that the brewing and sale of Kachasu is illegal and do not by any means support it as a business. However, we do not believe that it was necessary to humiliate the woman and others found selling the brew, especially in full view of cameras and onlookers.

We believe that part of the solution to addressing the problem of the illicit brewing and sale of Kachasu should include massive sensitization of both the brewers and consumers of Kachasu, in addition to offering alternative income-generating activities. Further, offences such as the brew and sale of illicit brews are already provided for in the law and therefore proper channels must be followed in dealing with perpetrators.

We, therefore, hope that such a show of power and callousness will not happen again especially involving children, who cannot be held accountable for the offences of their parents.

Daisy Nkhata Ng’ambi
ZNWL National Chairperson

Ndola clergy Fr. John Emmanuel Kapambwe of the Anglican Church in Masala Township has called on the Human Rights Commission to seriously look into the matter in which Minister of Local Government Gary Nkombo forced a woman and her children to drink illicit local brew called Kachasu.

Mr Nkombo yesterday raided the townships and destroyed liters of Kachusu that were being brewed at the time and alleged that the drink was responsible for destroying many lives.

The Minister was seen in a video that has gone viral on social media forcing a girl child to drink Kachasu on camera.

Speaking in his personal capacity as a concerned citizen, Fr. Kapambwe branded Mr. Nkombo’s action as totally inhuman or barbaric.

Fr. Kapambwe said the Mazabuka Central Member of Parliament should have handed over the erring woman to law enforcement agencies as opposed to forcing her and the innocent children to drink Kachasu.

“I have seen the video that is trending on social media platforms involving Hon. Garry Nkombo, Minister of Local Government, commanding a lady and her children to drink Kachasu. This action is totally inhuman or barbaric. In the first place I acknowledge that the lady in question was wrong because the law of the land forbids the brewing and selling of Kachasu. However, the Minister handled the matter in a very unprofessional way,” Fr. Kapambwe stated.

“Firstly, the Minister Honourable Nkombo knows that people who go against the law of the land must be handed over to the right authorities to deal with matters. So he would have handed over the lady to the relevant authorities. Secondly, why force the children of the said lady to take Kachasu? I do not think the lady who sells Kachasu forces the children in the community to buy Kachasu, they buy willingly. Then abusing the children for the sin of the mother was totally wrong,” he said.

”The law of the land forbids substance abuse and the minister is busy facilitating the abuse by forcing the lady and the children in question to drink Kachasu in the name of discipline or enforcing the Law. The intention might have been good but the approach was absolutely inhuman. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. I therefore; call upon the Human Rights Commission to look into the matter. The community does not expect such unprofessional behavior from the Minister who is supposed to lead by example to others,” Fr. Kapambwe added.

Kabwe Mayor, Patrick Chishala, has advised mobile money booth operators to be on high alert against criminal elements.

Mr Chishala says it’s unfortunate that young entrepreneurs especially females earning a living from mobile money booths are the centre of abductions that occurring in some parts of the country.

ZANIS reports Mr Chishala said in an interview in Kabwe today, that the reported abductions of booth operators in Lusaka in the recent past should not be treated as isolated.

“ Mobile money booth operators must be very alert and report any suspicious patronage at their sites to the police and other relevant authorities, “ said the mayor.

He further observed that because of proximity from Lusaka, criminals could easily relocate to Kabwe and attack unsuspecting booth operators.

Mr Chishala has also urged the police in the municipality to increase patrols around the booths, the Central Business District (CBD) and communities to curb crime.

In the recent past , the country has witnessed a number of kidnaps among mobile phone operators such as 22 year old Pamela Chisupa an Airtel Booth operator who has disappeared for almost two weeks.

Inspector-General of Police, Lemmy Kajoba says his officers have launched investigations into the disappearance of Chisupa.

Mr Kajoba said the police are probing the whereabouts and circumstances surrounding Pamela Chisupa’s disappearance on April 13, 2022 in Lusaka.

Former Luanshya Member of Parliament Steve Chungu has said the New Dawn government has already lost the fight against corruption.

Mr Chungu, the former chief government whip in the PF regime, said he rates the UPND government’s campaign against corruption as two out of ten.

He said the President Hakainde Hichilema led UPND administration is only pursuing former government officials without following its officials named in some scandals.

Mr Chungu said the New Dawn government must investigate its ministers mentioned in dubious deals with the same energy being applied to investigate former government officials.

He said the fight against corruption should be inclusive.

“Talking about the corruption fight in this country from the time the UPND took over the Government. If I were to be asked to say can you rate them? I would rate the UPND’s fight against corruption two to ten. The reason is simple. Corruption should not be seen from the outside. Corruption starts from inside. The people that are running the government should not be seen to be saints because they are also just human beings. And if what we are listening to from people, the commentaries that are coming from the people, and the issues that we are reading about have some truth in it. Then it is so sad that the there is nothing completely that we are doing about the fight against corruption in the eight months of the UPND in government,” Mr. Chungu said.

“We have heard about the fertiliser issue, no official statement from the government to inform the Zambian people why the prices of fertiliser had to move from $1000 to $1,400 that was barely the UPND’s two months in government and there was that story. The Zambians have not been told anything. Now if fertiliser was to cost that much $400 more, are we surely expecting that we are going to be buying a cheaper mealie meal? The answer is no. There are too many scandals that we are getting to know about now that are coming out. I don’t have any proof but we are all reading about these things. The same things happened in the PF government we were reading about and we had no proof to say this is happening. It happened at this firm but these are things that should give us a lot of worries,” he said.

Mr Chungu continued:”The fight against corruption should have started on the first day of the UPND coming into power and by now we could have seen some people that have committed these crimes being brought to book. But what is happening is that the fight has been pushed back to pursue those people that committed crimes. Does it mean that there is no crime happening now within eight months of the UPND in government? The only things that we are listening to or reading about those who were in power are the PF. Yes it is not wrong for them to look back but what is wrong is not to look at what is happening currently. Because the same stories that happened that time are the same stories that are happening now.

“There has not been a stop in the way officials of the government have been operating from the PF government. Now there is so much that is happening and I would like to see a time when President Hichilema will have to make a decision on some of the officials that have been found wanting or are being mentioned in these scandals. What doesn’t take time, use the same effort that has been put in to go and investigate the issues that happened many years ago, is the same effort that should be put in the reports that are coming out today that ministers are involved in so many scandals,” he said.

“Corruption fight should not only be seen when there is a change of government. Corruption takes place every day. It is not only people that are outside the government that are involved, even those inside the government could be involved. But the worst part is when people who are supposed to serve the people in government take advantage of their positions to enrich themselves. That is where it is wrong. This is something that we saw in the PF and the Zambian people judged the PF with a red card and if what is happening now is truthful the Zambian people are going to make a decision again in 2026.”

“If the UPND does put efforts in fighting corruption within the government then I don’t see the corruption fight being won. So far I feel the fight against corruption has been lost already because there is nothing that is coming out in terms of the efforts being put into this fight to zero. Let the president come out strongly, he has eyes all over. He has the state machinery,” Mr. Chungu added.

Former Permanent Representative to the African Union, Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba has called upon President Hakainde Hichilema not to rush in allowing the opening of the proposed security office by the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) in Zambia.

Mr. Mwamba stated that he learnt with deep concern following an announcement that indicated that the AFRICOM will open a security office at the USA Embassy in Zambia.

Mr. Mwamba appealed to President Hichilema to learn lessons from the last four presidents; President Levy Mwanawasa, President Rupiah Banda, President Michael Sata and President Edgar Lungu why they resisted to accept such a proposal from the United States.

He said Zambia promotes a non-aligned policy and is encouraged to seek economic, social and military cooperation with all powers including the USA, Russia, China and others.

He also said both the African Union and SADC have exoressed concern about AFRICOM and have resisted the establishment of proposed USA military bases and security offices in Africa.

He said it was for this reason that AFRICOM still operates from its Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany and not from the African soil.

Mr. Mwamba said AFRICOM was formed by the United States government in 2007 together with the Millennium Challenge Account, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ( PEPFAR) and AFRICOM.

He said African leaders accepted the operations of the social and health programmes but took caution with AFRICOM.

Mr. Mwamba said Africa and SADC have been developing a Standby Force and SADC Brigade and it is envisaged that Zambia will support its military activities under the African Union framework and its security architecture.

He said this allows the countries to seek military-to-military partnerships and cooperation from a wide ranging of staholders and powers than promoting one hegemonic or dominant power such as the United States.

He appealed to President Hichilema to consult widely on the matter so that all security, military and regional concerns that have been raised by the African Union and SADC were taken into account before the military-to-military partnership with the US AFRICOM was signed and established in Zambia.

He said he is aware that Zambia, like Liberia and Botswana and are other countries have done, can make its own decisions regardless of the view of other member states, but he encouraged President Hichilema to study the matter diligently before rushing into signing the Agreement and allowing the security office.

Mr. Mwamba has written a detailed article about the matter explaining the history and concerns expressed by the African Union and SADC about US AFRICOM.

On April 25, the U.S. government announced that U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) will open an Office of Security Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Zambia.

Visiting AFRICOM Brigadier General Peter Bailey, Deputy Director for Strategy, Engagement, and Programs, made the announcement during a meeting with His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema.

INSPECTOR General of Police Lemmy Kajoba has disclosed that Police have re-opened investigations into the gassing cases that characterised the country sometime in the past.

Mr. Kajoba said most cases called for further investigations as they were not logically concluded.

He said the perpetrators and all those who played a role in the gassing incidences should never feel at easy as the cases were still active with the Police.

Mr. Kajoba said this yesterday during the official opening of the Criminal Investigators workshop held at Zambia Police Training College in Lusaka.

“As you may be aware, we have re-opened investigations into the gassing cases that characterised our country sometime in the past and were not logically concluded,” Mr. Kajoba said.

He added that his Command was in a hurry to build capacity for Criminal Investigations Officers in order for them to catch up and effectively combat both old and emerging crime trends.

Mr Kajoba said a number of cases were under investigations such as the alleged abduction of Pamela Chisupa and other cases of interest including the abuse of social media among others.
Rae Hamoonga