Southern Defenders strongly condemns the recent unlawful arrest of peaceful protesters in Lusaka who were exercising their democratic right to protest against the crippling load-shedding schedules. Reports indicate that the protesters had complied with police notification procedures before peacefully gathering at the ZESCO Headquarters. These unarmed protesters were expressing their frustrations over the unpredictable and prolonged periods of load-shedding, which negatively impact the production and livelihoods of Zambian citizens. Instead of addressing the protesters’ legitimate concerns, the police arbitrarily harassed, arrested, and detained them without proper legal justification.
The economic effects of load-shedding are significant enough to raise public anger, which has spilled onto the streets. Load-shedding has caused unplanned downtime, disrupting manufacturing processes, with the industry struggling to meet customer demands and maintain production schedules. Importantly, it is also affecting the people’s livelihoods.
“We remind the Zambian government that strong-arm tactics are not a permanent solution to the grievances highlighted by the protesters. Instead, immediate interventions that enhance the citizen’s quality of life, including guaranteed permanent energy supplies, would avert such protests in the future. While drought and generation challenges can create substantial power deficits affecting the whole economy, planning ahead is a hallmark of good governance. The government must not make it a habit to respond to crises by using strong-arm tactics to crush dissent. The brutal responses by the police against those who express legitimate concerns arising from the government’s own failures help fuel public anger and exacerbate a fragile situation,” said Prof. Adriano Nuvunga, Chairperson of Southern Defenders.
The police’s overreaction warrants a much stronger rebuke in solidarity with the protesters because such repressive responses result in the closure of democratic civic space, done under the false and unlawful guise of maintaining law and order. The arrests also represent a clear violation of fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and assembly as enshrined in Articles 13 and 20 of the Constitution of Zambia. These rights are also reinforced through several international human rights covenants and treaties, such as Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and association. Furthermore, Article 9 of the ICCPR prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention.
Southern Defenders, therefore:
Demands that the government of Zambia unconditionally and promptly release from custody the protesters arrested for the peaceful exercise of their fundamental rights, namely freedom of expression, association, and assembly.
Calls upon the authorities to desist from unlawfully deploying law enforcement agents against innocent citizens exercising their democratic rights provided under the Constitution.
Demands that the government provide an urgent workable solution to the energy crisis that is impacting the economy and livelihoods of many Zambians.
Urges the government to uphold its human rights obligations and allow citizens to exercise their freedoms of expression, association, and assembly without fear of harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary arrest.
Southern Defenders remain committed to defending, protecting, and promoting human rights in all countries across the region.
TogetherWeDefend!
For additional information, please contact Washington Katema at wkatema@southerndefenders.africa or +27736202608.
The post PRESS STATEMENT IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE #FIXZESCO PROTESTERS FOLLOWING THEIR UNLAWLFUL ARREST IN LUSAKA, ZAMBIA appeared first on SouthernDefenders.
