The arrest of Chishimba Kambwili, a prominent opposition leader in Zambia, for allegedly violating the Public Order Act has sparked outrage among opposition politicians and human rights advocates. Kambwili was arrested after welcoming a group of youths to his residence, leading Citizens First (CF) leader Harry Kalaba to label the arrest “unfortunate.” Mr. Kalaba went on to claim that President Hakainde Hichilema has been using the Public Order Act to suppress opponents, saying, “President Hichilema is on a mission to intimidate and oppress his colleagues in the opposition.”
Mr Kalaba has called for the complete obliteration of the Public Order Act, which he believes is an oppressive law used by President Hichilema to suppress opponents. He has also invited the international community to reflect on the situation in Zambia.
Kalaba has since called on the Zambian police to be professional and to advise the President on what is right and wrong, saying, “I urge the Zambia Police to be professional and begin to advise the President on what is right and wrong.” He also called for the complete obliteration of the Public Order Act, which he called an oppressive law. “The adjustments being made in the Public Order Act which would come in the form of Public Gathering act are cosmetic. We need to get rid of oppressive laws like the public order act. They have changed the name then what next. What we are calling for is a complete obliteration of the public order act,” Kalaba said.
And Hon. Dr. Chitalu Chilufya, a Presidential candidate for the Patriotic Front, called on the government to stop using the police as a political tool against opposition parties. Speaking to reporters, Dr. Chilufya stated, “To weaponize the police as an instrument of political mobilization against the opposition is totally unacceptable in a free and democratic society.”
Dr. Chilufya also decried Kambwili’s detention and alleged subjection to trauma as an act of torture, saying, “The detention of Chishimba Kambwili and further subjecting him to trauma is an act of torture that we cannot accept in a free and democratic society.” He went on to urge the government to exercise tolerance and respect divergent views in the political arena, saying, “The defining character of every democracy is TOLERANCE of one another’s divergent views. Democracy and the subsequent political pluralism it births, entails just that– that we are opponents and not enemies.”
Kambwili was eventually released on police bond and is set to appear in court soon. Following his release, Kambwili expressed confusion over why he was being treated like a common criminal, saying, “I did not understand why police were handling me like a common criminal.”