It may take quite a while for the country to recover and move away from the political insanity experienced under the Patriotic Front, especially during the Edgar reign.
The citizens were asphyxiated in all areas at the hands of government either directly or through private actors.
The country should never again go through the epoch of State sponsored terror and banditry experienced under the Patriotic Front rule in the name of government. The country experienced political dementia which resulted into rule of law amnesia characterised by abdication of law and order by the Police.
The Police and other institutions of government are established by law to protect both property and citizens.
Evidently under Kanganja as IG, the Police became aggressors towards the citizens especially the opposition, renegading its constitutional duty. This was a difficult era as the country recorded deaths which could have been avoided had the police acted professionally. The most unfortunate of the incidents happened under the watchful eyes of the police. Police, just like their counter parts in the Military acts under orders and therefore for the nation to provide closure, especially of those who lost their loved ones, the government should probe the Police and bring to book for complicity in those crimes.
Compensate the victims or the survivors of these orchestrated crimes and the culprits brought to book individually. The law should be applied fairly and decisively for the benefit of the people.
President HH and his UPND government was primarily given votes with a view to end the political terror among others under the Patriotic Front. However, voting the PF out of power is not enough if individuals both in the fallen regime and those who acted as private citizens to commit crimes will continue to roam the streets of Lusaka and other parts of the country without asking them to account.
Every individual especially those in key institutions such as the Police should as a matter of drawing examples for the future of our country, account how they used their power both under the constitution and Police Act. The Police are mandated to ensure the preservation of peace and maintain law and order. They are also responsible for the security of the people as provided for under Article 193(2) of the Zambian Constitution. One need not be a lawyer to tell that that Police under the PF rule seriously abdicated their functions and therefore in disregard of their duties provided for both by the Police Act, CAP 107 of the Laws of Zambia and the Constitution of Zambia as highlighted above. It is against this background that Police should account for their actions during the PF rule. Under the Patriotic Front our democracy was under siege and key institutions of governance were incapacitated as it was referred to severally during the campaigns and during President Hichilema’s inaugural speech, should be rid of political interference and therefore for precedency Police should account to gain public trust which is currently very low or none existent.
On the same strength, the President should also ‘fire’ a stern warning short by recalling all diplomats who grossly misconducted themselves by coming down to campaign for PF. Whether they were on leave or not is immaterial. This was uncalled for, as diplomats are civil servants sworn to serve government of the day. Let’s build back confidence of our institutions and this could only be done so by allowing institutions such as the Police to account among others.
Governance Specialist
Francisco Mumba
