Zambian police forces patrol the street after riots in Kanyama township of Lusaka, Zambia, on Jan. 12, 2018. Chanda Mwenya/Press Association. All rights reserved.Since gaining its independence from
Britain on October 24, 1964 and the reintroduction of the multiparty system in 1991, following
an authoritarian
one-party state between 1973 and 1991, Zambia is regarded as a fairly
consolidated democracy in the southern region of Africa; a region that has
historically seen its fair share of conflict. Two key comparatives are Zimbabwe
during Mugabe’s 37 year rule and Kabila’s Democratic Republic of Congo, where Kabila
is refusing to hold an election and cede power and attacking
anyone who calls for him to stand down.
However, a persistent failure by the
current and previous governments to observe key human rights such as the freedom of speech and assembly threaten
to undermine Zambia’s democratic reputation. In addition, a failure to
reform and implement much needed change to a largely defective Constitution and
electoral rules means that Zambia is having a tough time adapting to the
changing democratic realities in the region and indeed, across the continent
and the world.
Since 2011, the Human Rights Watch
(HRW) organisation has released two reports detailing human rights abuses in
Zambia. Firstly, human
rights abuses in the mining sector and secondly, the failure to
protect the rights of those living in poverty against all forms of exploitation
such as land displacement
and police
brutality.
With regards to the latter, the fact
still remains that police forces in Zambia constantly use what many have
described as the vague and overly broad provisions of the Public Order Act
(POA) 1955 to limit rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and
association. It was observable that in the months leading up to the election in
which president Edgar Lungu was re-elected in August 2016, a marked
decrease of any kind of political dissent or freedom of expression was
to be witnessed. This in turn raises a number of questions. What impact,
if any, does the Public Order Act 1955 have on ensuring the civil liberties of
ordinary Zambians? Does the failure to reform a largely defective Constitution
and electoral rules threaten the consolidation of Zambia’s democracy?
One feature of the current and
historical record of events and problems that shape everyday life in Zambia is the
oppression of student protests which are prominent in public
colleges and universities in Zambia – protests triggered as a result of an
inconsistent water supply and poor sanitation at learning institutions; delays
in payment of student allowances by the government; and the hiking of tuition
fees by the government. On almost each occasion, these protests have attracted the
attention of a police force intent on the excessive use of force leading to the
deaths of students and other citizens.
In June 2016, one of the country’s
oldest daily newspapers, The Post was shut down after it was accused of owing
taxes. Its owners were also said to have suffered abuses, including harassment,
beatings and arrest at the hands of the police. These examples demonstrate the
negative role excessive police force action has on human rights and democratic life
in Zambia.
On September 29, 2017, a group of
human rights defenders, including Laura Miti, Lewis Mwape and singer Pilato
were arrested after they marched
to parliament demanding answers about the procurement of 42 fire trucks
that cost $42 million.
Thus the Public Order Act 1955 is
widely abused in Zambia under the pretext of protecting public order.
Permission to hold a rally, peaceful march or public gatherings can be denied
pursuant to the act. This, mixed with corruption, has a significantly negative
impact on democratic consolidation in Zambia. Is there then a causal
relationship between the exercise of civil liberties by ordinary citizens (such
as freedom of expression, the freedom of assembly) and police force
action.
Whilst acknowledging that the Public
Order Act has a role in maintaining the rule of law, which is essential for a
liberal democracy, this provision has to a large extent been used to undermine
the rule of law and indeed, threaten to regress the consolidation of Zambia’s
democracy in a region that has been historically characterised by conflict,
civil war, corruption and human rights abuses.
Whatever the Public Order Act’s role
in maintaining the rule of law, it has also served as a tool to undermine the human
rights that are essential to a democracy, and has done this under successive governments
that wish to hold on to power or wish to silence any opposing ideas. Reforming
Zambia’s constitution is an important part of ensuring that Zambia’s democratic
consolidation does not regress in this way.