Political tensions began to rise in Zambia soon after the conclusion of the June 1997 Consultative Group (CG) meeting on Zambia. Two weeks after the meeting closed, the opposition United National Independence Party (UNIP) found its Lusaka headquarters besieged by police and filled with tear gas. Some passersby were caught up in the police attack and at least one market stallholder was badly beaten. Twenty-three UNIP supporters who left the building were arrested , some whom were badly beaten with batons at the Force Headquarters of the police in Lusaka. Eleven detainees, including UNIP Central Committee member Rabbison Chongo, were reportedly seriously injured, among them, two women spent five days in hospital, one with a broken leg, and the other with an injured knee. One detainee was reportedly tortured with electric shocks.
In Kabwe police intervened on August 23 to stop an opposition rally. UNIP had obtained permission for the rally in advance but paramilitary police dispatched by Force Headquarters in Lusaka arrived in Kabwe late on August 22 and ordered that the meeting be cancelled. On August 23 the police raided UNIP's offices in Kabwe and ordered that it be vacated. They then proceeded to the rally site and dismantled the podium, confiscating the tent and other rally equipment. At this time they arrested thirty-nine opposition supporters and informed the opposition leadership that they would only be released if the rally was cancelled. When the organizers went ahead with the rally police used a large amount of tear gas to disperse it and two members suffered sprains and two others had knee injuries because of police beatings.
The police reportedly became more aggressive when a number of opposition leaders arrived in Kabwe to address the rally. As opposition leaders Kenneth Kaunda, the former president, and Rodger Chongwe fled in a vehicle, a 762 x 51mm bullet from an assault rifle struck and seriously injured Rodger Chongwe and reportedly slightly wounded Kaunda and an aide. According to eyewitnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch no warning was given prior to live ammunition being used by police. A small number of police that day carried AK-47 assault rifles, senior officers had revolvers, and a few G-3s were held by the mobile unit.
The Zambian government imposed a twenty-four hour news black-out on reporting of the Kabwe shooting, although foreign radio reports are accessible to most Zambians. On August 26 President Chiluba denied that the Kabwe shooting was a state-sponsored assassination plot and said that the Zambian police had begun an investigation and that Nungu Sassasali, the commanding officer at Kabwe, was suspended. However, he rejected calls for an independent inquiry saying that the police inquiry was sufficient. On November 13 President Chiluba admitted police fired live ammunition in the air but challenged Kaunda and Chongwe to prove they were shot and wounded in Kabwe. He also challenged the government appointed Human Rights Commission to carry out an independent probe into the incident. This has not yet happened, and the police have made no public statement concerning their own inquiry's findings.
On October 28 a number of soldiers seized the national radio station in the government's Mass Media Complex in an attempt to stage a coup. A few hours later Zambian army commandos stormed the complex, regaining control and capturing the rebel soldiers. The following day, a state of emergency was declared by President Chiluba and a crackdown began on suspected accomplices in the coup attempt. A number of opposition politicians were targeted, including Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC) leader Dean Mung'omba and on December 25, ex-president and UNIP leader Kenneth Kaunda.
In the months that followed the coup attempt, constitutional guarantees of many basic human rights were suspended. In early January 1998 the number of detainees peaked at 104 people; by May this had declined to eighty-two as detainees were gradually released.
A number of the detainees were tortured. In early November a number of the detainees were reportedly tortured by being put on the "kampelwa" (or "swing"). This was described as being suspended from a metal rod thrust between two tables, with hands handcuffed to the rod and rope binding their legs to it. The officers reportedly beat them while they hung. Human Rights Watch received information that at least fourteen of the detainees, including Mung'omba, were tortured or beaten by police while in detention, although the government does not acknowledge this. One of the detainees, Corporal Robert Chiulo, died on November 7 at Lusaka's Maina Soko Military Hospital. The hospital told Human Rights Watch that he had died of malaria, but other medical sources at the hospital told us that he died of injuries endured during torture. Human Rights Watch was also told that a post mortem had not been done.
Human Rights Watch was denied access in late November to the detainees to independently verify the allegations of torture. In March we gained access to two detainees, Kenneth Kaunda and Princess Nakatindi Wina, but failed again to gain access to the majority, although we monitored their presence in court. Amnesty International was also denied access to the detainees in April, although like Human Rights Watch, it gained access to Kaunda.
The state of emergency was also marked by restrictions of freedom of expression, assembly and association and prolonged arbitrary detentions. The state of emergency was extended on January 29, 1998 but lifted on March 17, following strong EU and U.S. donor protest and a clear message from the World Bank that a consultative group meeting could only occur once the state of emergency ended. President Chiluba announced the measure as intended to assure the outside world that Zambia is a democratic country.
The recently established Human Rights Commission showed some initiative in this period and publicly condemned the use of torture in December. However, after making this statement the government withdrew its offer of a government property, Ndeke House, as the commission's premises, a warning to the semi-autonomous commission to be more compliant. The commission's composition and its limited resources and power still raise questions concerning its independence. The commission also lacks permanent premises and resources are short.
The international community's efforts to press for improved human rights protection and governance in Zambia remain exemplary. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and especially the governments of Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe have played an important role in pushing for rights improvements in Zambia. The bilateral donors' resolve to offer balance of payments support in return for positive actions by the Zambian government has continued to have some results in the run-up to the May 1998 Consultative Group meeting in Paris. At this meeting in Paris, donors agreed that balance of payments resumption needs to be phased in accord with specific bench marks of human rights improvements so that these successive improvements become meaningful and sustainable.
This report, based on three Human Rights Watch visits to Zambia, in November 1997 and in March and April 1998, looks at the human rights record in Zambia since June 1997.
Recommendations to the Zambian Government
Based on the findings of this report, Human Rights Watch calls on the Zambian government:
Human Rights Watch recommends the international community to:
Zambia has been the scene of a serious human rights crisis since the government forced a radical amendment to the 1991 constitution through the Movement for Multiparty Democracy-dominated parliament in May 1996, rejecting demands that major constitutional reforms be agreed by a Constituent Assembly and subjected to a referendum, as proposed by the Mwanakatwe Constitutional Review Commission in 1995. Particularly controversial was a provision in the Constitutional Amendment Act (1996) that imposed new requirements on persons seeking to hold the office of president. These included that the person be a Zambian citizen born to parents who were Zambian by birth or descent and that the person not be a tribal chief. These requirements appeared to be precisely tailored to disqualify specific opposition leaders from running for president, including former president Kenneth Kaunda. Some of the new restrictions appeared to violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Zambia is a party.
The constitutional amendment was vigorously challenged by opposition political parties, civic associations, human rights and women's groups, in part because it would damage the opposition's chances to effectively participate in the November 18 1996 multiparty elections. The article in effect banned UNIP leader Kaunda--who is partially of Malawian heritage--and UNIP's vice presidential candidate--a tribal chief--from running. UNIP and seven other opposition parties in late October announced a boycott.
On November 18, 1996, presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Zambia. The election results returned President Frederick Chiluba and his Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) to power with the majority of the contested seats in what was presented as a landslide victory; but in reality, it was a hollow defeat of an opposition that had chosen to boycott the electoral process.
Respect of human rights has only slightly improved since President Chiluba was re-elected for a second-term in office.(1) At his inauguration speech on November 21, 1996, President Chiluba warned nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that they should not "instruct" the authorities, and in following days, the government threatened to pass anti-NGO legislation if NGO's continued to act in an "anti-patriotic" manner. Following the announcement by the Committee for a Clean Campaign (CCC) that the November 1997 multiparty elections had not been free and fair, the situation deteriorated.(2) On November 24 and 25, police raided the Lusaka offices of the Zambia Independent Monitoring Team (ZIMT)(3), the CCC, and the offices of the Inter-Africa Network for Human Rights and Development (AFRONET). The Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP)(4), which also concluded that the elections were not free and fair, was also targeted by the government. FODEP had tax exempt status from the Zambia Revenue Authority because it was operating on a grant aimed at strengthening the democratic process, including election monitoring. But on December 19, 1996, it received a tax demand for outstanding tax arrears for K27 million (approximately U.S.$21,000): shortly afterwards, tax authorities confiscated all of the funds in FODEP's bank account. After international protest, the money was finally returned in 1998.
For much of 1997, a petition challenging the fairness of the elections and President Chiluba's constitutional right to the presidency before the Supreme Court was the focus of Zambian political life. Some of the witnesses brought to testify in this case were harassed and have been continued to be harassed in 1998 such as Tom Musendeka. Several have received death threats. The case is awaiting judgment.
In the run-up to the Paris CG meeting in July 1997, the number of human rights abuses declined and at the end of the meeting participants indicated that balance of payments resumption was conditional upon a number of economic, governance, and human rights bench marks being met.(5)
Contrary to expectations, soon after the CG meeting ended political tensions began to rise in Zambia again. Two weeks after the meeting, on July 30, a protest demonstration was violently dispersed by police, UNIP found its Lusaka headquarters under police siege, and a number of opposition supporters were beaten and arrested. Some of those detained were reportedly tortured.
A riot by street vendors in Lusaka followed, on August 13, 1997 when vendor's "tutemba"(6) stands were found burnt to ashes. The protesting vendors suspected that the government was responsible, trying to force them into the newly opened Lusaka City Market, while the government blamed the opposition for the fires.(7) Police responded with large amounts of tear gas, beatings and indiscriminate arrests: police reportedly seized and beat anyone found on the street.(8) Seventy-five protesting vendors were arrested, eight of them juveniles.(9) At least two people died during the police operation, reportedly from severe beatings by police.(10) Police also moved into Chibolya, Misisi, John Howard, and other townships near the old Soweto market and beat up people and fired tear gas. Jane Mwamba, a market trader at the burnt Soweto market was reported by the press to have said the tear gas suffocated her baby when she could not run away to safety.(11) The National Mirror's acting-editor, Beatwell Chisala, who was taking pictures of the riot, was also reportedly roughed up by the police, who demanded he hand over his film.(12)
In Kabwe, police intervened on August 24 to stop an opposition rally, using tear gas and live ammunition. As opposition leaders Kaunda and Rodger Chongwe fled in a vehicle, Chongwe was seriously injured by a bullet, which apparently also slightly injured Kaunda's aide and Kenneth Kaunda. The shooting incident heightened opposition anger. The nature of Kaunda's injury, initially said to have been a bullet wound to the head was later disputed.
The Kabwe shooting was followed by a spate of mysterious fires in Lusaka, which again resulted in the country's two main political groups blaming each other for suspected arson attacks.
Despite assurances at the July 1997 CG meeting that a Media Council Bill was dead, Deputy Minister of Information Ernest Mwansa on August 18 announced that the government still supported the bill. However, the Lusaka High Court blocked the government's decision to regulate the media on August 23. Justice Anthony Nyangulu ruled that the intention to create a Media Council abrogated constitutional safeguards on freedom of expression and association.(13)
On October 28 a number of soldiers attempted to stage a coup by seizing the national radio station in Lusaka's Mass Media Complex. A few hours later Zambian army commandos stormed the complex regaining control and capturing the rebel soldiers. The following day, a state of emergency was declared by President Chiluba and a crackdown began on people suspected of involvement in the coup attempt. A number of opposition politicians were targeted, including Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC) leader Dean Mung'omba, and on December 25, UNIP leader Kenneth Kaunda. Some of the detainees, including Mung'omba, were tortured, although the government has made no public statement on this.
Since May 1996 there has been no official dialogue between the main opposition parties and the government. In 1997 the Sweden-based International Institute for Democracy (IDEA) tried to facilitate dialogue. A series of closed meetings were held from January to March in Lusaka between the ministers of finance, home affairs and foreign affairs, and individual leaders of the opposition. These meetings culminated in a June meeting in Sweden where leading opposition members met with a Zambian government delegation.(14) However, after June, the initiative began to unravel. Although IDEA tried to save the initiative in September and the Swedish Ambassador to Zambia, Kristina Svensson, hosted a dinner to boost IDEA's efforts in October, little further progress was made.(15) IDEA tried to host a "talks about talks" meeting in London on November 28 but this failed to happen.(16)
Although IDEA's efforts failed because of a lack of political will to see the initiative succeed on the part of Zambia's political actors, after twenty months of stalemate opposition parties met ruling MMD officials on December 10, 1997. On December 11, the ruling MMD and thirty-one opposition parties adopted a four-point theme agenda and agreed to meet again on January 1, 1998.(17) The talks included discussion on the constitutional amendment and electoral procedures. The talks were aimed at drafting an agenda for a meeting of all opposition groups and President Chiluba. However, following the arrest of UNIP leader Kaunda on December 25, the main opposition parties have pulled out from talks.(18) Attempts in late December to save the talks failed with fifteen parties pulling out in protest at the arrest of Kaunda. UNIP had vowed to go nowhere near the talks as long as their leader was still in detention.(19)
Under these unfavorable conditions a follow up to the July 1997 CG meeting was postponed in December and again twice in 1998. The World Bank made a CG meeting conditional upon the state of emergency being lifted, which occurred on March 17 and was widely welcomed.
A CG meeting is scheduled for Paris for May 12 and 13. A meeting on governance and human rights issues will be held the day before. As happened in 1997 the number of human rights abuses occurring in Zambia has declined in the run-up to the CG meeting, but there are few guarantees that after the meeting has ended the cycle of human rights abuses will not start up again.
The full participation of Zambians in the political process has been obstructed by restrictions of the right to assemble peacefully. Zambian authorities have since June 1997 periodically invoked legal provisions regulating demonstrations to institute arbitrary bans on opposition activity. They also twice used excessive force to break up rallies, as discussed below.
"The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized," according to Article 21 of the ICCPR. The only permissible restrictions are those in conformity with law and necessary in a democratic society, including those necessary for public order. "The right of assembly is subject only to one condition, that it be exercised peacefully," according to one legal authority.(20)
Under Zambian law any group of citizens wishing to hold a public demonstration must obtain a police permit seven days before they hold the demonstration. The police are authorized to turn down an application "to assemble" up to five days before the date of the public meeting. Any rejection can be appealed against. In this event, the law requires the minister of interior to make a decision on the issue within five days of the appeal.
Standards in the form of
U.N. General Assembly resolutions, such as the U.N. Code of Conduct for
Law Enforcement Officials,(21) provide
a practical interpretation of the norms laid down in international treaties,
such as the ICCPR, and should guide the conduct of law enforcement officials
in controlling crowds and demonstrations. Article 3 of that Code of Conduct
provides, "Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary
and to the extent required for the performance of their duty."(22)
The commentary on that article, which forms an integral part of the code,
states:
The use of firearms is considered an extreme measure....In general, firearms should not be used except when a suspected offender offers armed resistance or otherwise jeopardizes the lives of others and less extreme measures are not sufficient to restrain or apprehend the suspected offender. In every instance in which a firearm is discharged, a report should be made promptly to the competent authorities.(23)A set of basic principles later clarified and developed these guidelines further, prohibiting use of firearms except in three specific cases: 1) self-defence or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury; 2) to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life; and 3) to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape.(24) Even in such circumstances, these principles permit the use of firearms "only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life." (Principle 9).
These basic principles impose additional requirements for the use of firearms: prior identification of the law enforcement officer as such, a clear warning of intent to use firearms, and sufficient time for warning to be observed (unless it would unduly place the officer at risk or death or serious harm to others or "would be clearly inappropriate or pointless in the circumstances of the incident"). (Principle 10).
There are also limits on
the force that can be used even when law enforcement officials are confronted
with an illegal assembly:
13. In the dispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but non-violent, law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or, where that is not practicable, shall restrict such force to the minimum extent necessary.14. In the dispersal of violent assemblies, law enforcement officials may use firearms only when less dangerous means are not practicable and only to be the minimum extent necessary. Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms in such, except under the conditions stipulated in principle 9.(25)
Even when use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials may be deemed unavoidable, law enforcement officers must consider some other factors:
Whenever the lawful use of firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials shall:
) Exercise restraint in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense and the legitimate objective to be achieved;Nor may "[e]xceptional circumstances such as internal political instability or any other public emergency....be invoked to justify any departure from these basic principles.(27)
b) Minimize damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life;
c) Ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected persons at the earliest possible moment;
d) Ensure that relatives or close friends of the injured or affected persons are notified at the earliest possible moment.(26)
UNIP and other members of the opposition alliance, the National Patriotic Coalition, staged a peaceful protest in Lusaka on July 30, 1997 to protest the Supreme Court's ruling that President Chiluba need not undergo a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test to establish the truth about his parentage--the focus of court proceedings challenging his qualifications for the presidency. The opposition alleged that Chiluba was not a Zambian by birth, but was born in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The rally was to have proceeded from Duly Motors along Ben Bella road up to the Freedom Statue where opposition leaders would address protesters. The protest actually began along Freedom Way at the old UNIP headquarters, but as the protesters reached the Nkwazi/Cairo road junction, police fired tear gas and attacked demonstrators with long batons. Some of the protesters had been carrying a mock coffin bearing the words "the death of Justice in Zambia."
Riot police were also deployed to defend the offices of the Times of Zambia and the Zambia Daily Mail while another detachment was sent to UNIP's headquarters. They had been warned that UNIP cadres were planning to march on the state-controlled newspapers, which they accused of biased reporting. Tensions ran high after police started using tear gas and shops in the center of town were quickly closed and shuttered to prevent looting. Some passersby were caught up in the police attack and at least one market stallholder was badly beaten. The police then moved in and blocked the main entrance to UNIP's headquarters, Freedom House, starting a five hour siege.
UNIP official Basil Kabwe,
who was in his office at the time in Freedom House, said he received a
phone call from the Times of Zambia in which a young man asked him
if it was true that UNIP cadres planned to raid the Zambia Daily Mail
offices. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) reportedly phoned with
the same question some minutes later. According to Kabwe, they were responding
to information from the state's Zambia Information Services, which had
received a 'tip' from a cabinet minister. Kabwe described the subsequent
police assault on the party offices.(28)
Meanwhile the noise outside got louder and protesters and members of the public rushed into Freedom House for refuge. Inside the tear gas had got so thick it was difficult to see beyond five paces. We then all gathered in the office next to mine as there was less tear gas in there. We had a huge basin filled with water to lessen the effect of tear gas on our eyes. Some women urinated in their pants out of fear, a couple of others fainted. Things just got worse and we were able to sneak a number of the most affected upstairs where the tear gas was not so bad.Meanwhile I remained in my office making phone calls appealing for help from the Red Cross at St Ignatius Church and maintained contact with Dr. Kaunda. Some people also called in to see how we were getting on. I continued to appeal to the police command to withdraw their men, but they always refused. We were completely surrounded. The Red Cross did turn up, but they were told to go away by the police. We stayed inside until 18.30 hrs when Police Deputy Commissioner Kabwiku ordered his officers to leave the place.(29)
Freedom House was closed for five days as a consequence of the tear gas.(30)
UNIP leader Kenneth Kaunda
had left Freedom House early to prepare for a trip to Chiala in Eastern
province. He then heard about the scuffle at Freedom House and insisted
on going there to try and mediate.
I was unable to do that but a number of people were able to get in the car. A police officer, [name withheld by Human Rights Watch], shot with his revolver the tires of my escort car. We then went off to Force Headquarters to see the Deputy Commissioner of Police Teddy Nondo to request that his men stop their siege of Freedom House. He promised to act and around 15.00 hrs when we returned to Freedom House we saw him arrive, stop for a few minutes, and then drive very rapidly past us in a red car. Straight after this we again came under tear gas attack. An officer threw a tear gas grenade at me but it hit my Head of Security on the leg, which swelled up. Another three canisters were shot at us and we had to rush back into the car and drive back to the police station.(31)Another UNIP official Rabbison Chongo was reportedly assaulted by the police.(32)
We organized that protest to express our anger at the DNA ruling by the supreme court. Kaunda left Freedom House at about 10:00 hrs on his way to Eastern province where he was going to have another meeting with cadres. While I was discussing things with Post reporter Joe Kunda, tear gas canisters were thrown at us, forcing us to enter Freedom House. The tear gas was so thick that we couldn't even see each other. After a while I went outside to try and talk to police and ask them to stop throwing canisters at us. But as soon as I stepped out of the building I was grabbed by the police and badly beaten. The police used long batons and pushed us into a police vehicle--I joined some fifteen other people.
We were moved to the Central Police Station (Church Road) where we continued to be beaten. If you were recognised by them as UNIP you stayed, others were released. We stood in a hall along the walls and we were beaten by officers with long batons. I was beaten on the shin until the skin broke. Eventually I was taken to the University Training Hospital (UTH) for treatment, bad bruises and a swollen eye.
The commanding officer that day, Wynter Kabwiku, was one of those doing the beating. Among those I saw being beaten was an old woman of about fifty and a young woman had her knee cap smashed with a gun butt. I spent two nights in police custody without food and water although our relatives were allowed to bring us food and drink the day after the arrest. We were charged with rioting. I would like to point out to you that over the last year there has been a negative shift in the police's attitude towards the opposition. We never used to be treated with such partisan brutality.
A total of twenty-three people were arrested and locked up. Eleven of these reported that they were seriously injured including Central Committee member Rabbison Chongo. Two women spent five days in the UTH, one with a broken leg, the other with a dislocated knee.(33)
Elika Banda is one of those
who was injured by the police. She described her experience to Human Rights
Watch.(34)
I was walking towards Freedom House but found it was blocked by police. Despite this I managed to run in. The police shortly afterwards closed the front door to the ground floor and shot tear gas through the glass panes. After a short while people couldn't stand it and ran out, I too. We were then grabbed by the police who dragged us to the corner. There were fourteen of us. They then started beating us with their batons. I tried to kneel but they wouldn't let me. My right leg then gave way and I fell down--they had broken my leg with their baton hits. The police then stopped and left me on my own, fearing for what they had done. A little while later I asked the police to help me get to hospital but they refused and took me to Police Central [Church Road] and put me in a cell. Finally after some four hours of protest, the police took me to hospital where I stayed for five days with no police presence.
UNIP claimed that two other
people were taken to Force Headquarters and put into the "C-5 a notorious
torture chamber, where in the presence of Christopher Chawinga, [they]
were badly tortured, that one of them has his genitals damaged."(35)
One of these UNIP men was Foster Mundele, a thirty-five-year old from Chewana.
He described to Human Rights Watch what happened to him:(36)
I was arrested outside Freedom House at around 12.30 p.m. with eight other people. They started beating us and dragged us along Cairo Road to the Post Office where there was a vehicle. We then were driven to Police Central. The eight of us were put in one cell, but I was then taken out and taken to a room with curtains. I was then asked what KK's [Kenneth Kaunda] plans were. I said I didn't know. I was then taken to a second room where I was tied up and electrified every time the lights went on. They warned me, that if I didn't say something I would die. Around this time Dr Kaunda arrived asking to see me. I heard him. Although the police refused to answer his question, the door was ajar, and I saw his son Wezi walk past and shouted. They then removed me from that room to the CID Chief Investigation Officer's office. I was then ordered to be taken to hospital. They put me in a vehicle but it only went some one hundred meters before it stopped: the police told me they had no fuel. I was then taken to a cell, but did not experience any more torture. The next day I was taken to court and then received hospital treatment.
Human Rights Watch has obtained five original medical documents on Mundele's condition. A Dr. Kazambe recorded on August 9, 1997 that this "35 year old welder suffered from: 1) Cough; 2) Chest pains; 3) Epidymochatis. After electrocution in remand prison."(37) The final report on August 10. concluded that Mundele was feeling much better and would be discharged, but he was still suffering from trauma from his treatment in prison. Mundele claims that his genitals have been permanently damaged by the torture.
In an attempt to get some medical help for those stuck in Freedom House, Mrs. Marianne Akuffo, the party's deputy secretary for women's affairs phoned the police emergency services phone number, 999, for help. She told us a man answered her call but told her "You don't know. The people they are tear gassing are UNIP. We will gas them until they die." She then asked him if the police just served the MMD but he just put the phone down.(38) She then called the local Red Cross to help. They went to Freedom House around 15.40 but found the police were blocking the entrance so they decided to leave. According to eyewitnesses the Police threatened to shot the tires of the Red Cross vehicle if they did not leave the scene.(39)
A secretary working in an office in Freedom House who was not affiliated to UNIP described what she saw:
I was in the office working at 10:00 am but was stuck until 16 hours when I tried to leave. Although on the 4th floor, the tear gas was so strong that I needed to use a handkerchief dipped in water. When I tried to leave the police tried to arrest me but a police reservist was a friend and intervened, pointing out that I was not a UNIP member. They were only looking for UNIPs. I saw some people who were not UNIP being taken away because they wouldn't believe that they weren't. Even the next day I was sick because of all the tear gas.(40)The Reverend Salimboshi is the director of Rainbow Monitors, a small human rights and election monitoring group with a close relationship with the MMD. Rev Salimboshi explained what he saw:
I was in my office and the wind brought the smell of tear gas. I knew something was happening so I went to look at what had happened on Cairo Road. It was 10.30 and the Police had made a number of arrests. Police were surrounding Freedom House and I was told by some street traders who watched the whole thing that things started to go wrong when UNIP youths beat up an MMD person outside Freedom House and stoned some government vehicles. The police then fired lots of tear gas into Freedom House's ground floor offices. Many people were choking and coming out after that; a number were being arrested. The Police were not being too aggressive. They would stop UNIPs, but others were free to go. But they made mistakes. A student from Kumasi College, Ndulanga Mutondo came out, wearing only a jacket and no shirt. The junior officers called him a UNIP and started badly beating him. We felt very helpless there was not anything we could do to stop that just then. This was done in the presence of senior officers. Why they didn't stop it I don't understand.(41)Human Rights Watch inspected the holes made by the tear gas canisters in the glass panes at the front of Freedom House. It is evident from these and the accounts that the police deliberately used a large amount of tear gas in a confined space. One source noted they had closed the front doors before firing the canisters through the window. The bottom floor of Freedom House is not well ventilated, having only tiny windows near the ceiling. Human Rights Watch also arranged the analysis and identification of samples of each type of tear gas canister found at Freedom House after the incident. Four types of canisters were used, one of which is of British manufacture.(42)
The National Patriotic Alliance was scheduled to hold a public meeting in Kabwe at Lukanga Primary School on August 23, 1997. The provincial leaders of UNIP and the opposition alliance informed the police in Kabwe of the plans and obtained their agreement for the rally to go ahead and the Kabwe police to provide protection.(43)
However, at around 8 p.m. on August 22 truckloads of paramilitary police equipped with riot gear arrived from Lusaka and the Copperbelt and ordered the cancellation of the meeting. Although the Kabwe police initially argued that they were in control and had issued permission for the rally they were overruled. The next day (August 23), the paramilitary police raided UNIP's office in Kabwe and ordered that it be vacated. They then proceeded to the rally site and dismantled the podium, confiscating the tent and other rally equipment. At this time they arrested thirty-nine UNIP and Alliance members who were charged with conduct likely to breach the peace. The police then informed UNIP in Kabwe that the detained cadres would only be released if the rally was cancelled and if Kaunda and the other Alliance leaders did not travel to Kabwe for the rally.
Police beatings also resulted in the sprained ankle of one person, and injuries to the knees of three others.(44) Many others were badly bruised.
Jennifer Phiri, the Liberal Patriotic Front (LPF) National Secretary, was one of those arrested. She described what happened:
I went to the UNIP office where I noticed that some people were dispersing, people were scattered because of the tear gas canisters that were being fired. My husband and I rushed towards our car where we sat with the windows closed. We could not drive because we could not see clearly due to the thick gas surrounding us. Some paramilitary police came and ordered us to open our windows. We refused and they threatened to break our windows. So we came out and they started beating us severely. When I ran towards the police car, they still continued beating me. Then as I reached the car one of the young policemen tried to hit me with a gun butt, but fortunately, he was stopped by a female officer who held him and ordered him not to do its since I was not resisting arrest. I got into their car and was taken to the Police Station. The Police then charged us and we signed. Some people who take medication for various ailments requested that we go to hospital first. From the hospital we were transferred then to another place because the police station could not hold all of us. We had no food or water for three days. We used to sleep on the veranda under the watchful eye of guards. After four days we were released on bail. We have been charged with unlawful assembly and have pleaded not guilty. I am fifty-eight years old and my husband, Amlock Phiri is sixty-five. The police did not consider our age, they just beat us up.(45)Lazarus Kalima, a local opposition Alliance figure, reported that people had been going around Kabwe telling residents that Kaunda was on his way to Kabwe to burn the markets there. He also said that few people knew that an opposition rally was to take place in Kabwe. Most people only knew something was happening when hundreds of police arrived.(46)
The police reportedly tried to clear the whole town center after dispersing the meeting. Ronald Mangobwela was reportedly beaten up by police because he refused to close down his Big Bite restaurant on the day of the rally. He said police had ordered him to close his premises (as had other businesses), but he had refused because he felt they had no right to order this. The police then beat him up with long batons and gun butts. They then started beating up all the other workers in the restaurant. To stop this he called for the restaurant to be closed. Mangobwela sustained various injuries, including an injured knee.(47)
A Post journalist, Masautso Phiri, was in Kabwe
that day and described seeing what went on at the Big Bite restaurant and
his own arrest:
I was in Kabwe looking around prior to the rally. I saw the police going into the Big Bite and telling them to close it. The place was thick with police and it was difficult to move around. I decided to take a photo of an embassy vehicle that was parked in the town. There was then a struggle with the police for my camera with Det. Serg. Mulenga who couldn't get it because the strap was around my wrist. He then took a bayonet and although it was clearly blunt, cut the strap. I was then taken to the police station and received one blow there while waiting to be charged. They charged me for taking photographs without permission although no such charge exists.(48)
A board member of the human rights monitoring group, ZIMT,
was in Kabwe just before the attempted rally. Gershom Musonda described
what he saw:
There were many police, and I saw them use tear gas. Most of the police were inexperienced junior officers--I saw them shaking with their guns. They over-reacted mainly because they had poor leadership--nobody in authority to tell them to stop when they started to get violent.. The most suspicious thing for me was the unexplained power failure at the hospital when they were trying to treat Rodger Chongwe. But I had left then because we had been escorting a young Norwegian diplomat.(49)
The diplomat was Siv Moe, who was new to Zambia at the
time. Siv Moe is at the Norwegian Embassy in Lusaka and drove her car to
Kabwe with several members of ZIMT, including Musonda. She was shaken by
what she saw:
I had never been to Africa before and I was new in Zambia. When we arrived in Kabwe it was full of police and very tense. Musonda took a photograph of this from the car and then we saw the journalist Masautso Phiri taking a photo and being in a struggle with the police over his camera. It was violent and the police were heavy-handed with other people too. I was scared. I never expected to see such things in Zambia so we decided to leave and go back to Lusaka.(50)
Early on August 23, the UNIP phoned the vice-president, Brig. General Godfrey Miyanda, who was acting president at the time, in order to bring to his attention what was happening in Kabwe. Unable to reach him, party leaders decided to proceed to Kabwe, partly because they had postponed the rally once already. When they arrived at the UNIP provincial offices, the police regrouped and proceeded to fire teargas at the building to get people to disperse. When Kaunda and Alliance leader Rodger Chongwe decided to leave by car, police attacked the car with tear gas and later live ammunition, possibly to try to stop their exit. According to eyewitnesses no warning was given before shots were heard. A small number of police that day were carrying AK-47s, senior officers had revolvers and a few G-3s were held by mobile unit members. Most of the police were issued only batons or carried teargas.
UNIP alleges the firing was an assassination plot and
has provided a list of names of police and "accomplices" to Human Rights
Watch.(51) In a hearing in Kabwe magistrate
court on March 23, Inspector Bertha Mwanza,
the officer in command of police in Kabwe gave her testimony. She confirmed
that the police operation in Kabwe had been ordered by Force Headquarters
in Lusaka:
Q. And the Special Operation was to clear civilians from the streets of Kabwe?
A. Yes Your Honor.
Q. And operational orders for this came from Force Headquarters?
A. Yes Your Honor.
Q. Force HQ in Lusaka?
A. Yes Your Honor.(52)
Opposition leader Rodger Chongwe gave the following account
of what happened to him at the rally:
I left Lusaka for the Kabwe rally at around 12:10 hours and arrived at 13:00 hours. The rally was scheduled for 15:00 hours. When I arrived I went straight to the Masiye Motel with David Kasuba whom I had given a lift. He informed me that the preparations for the rally had been satisfactory except that the previous night at about 22:00 hours three trucks of paramilitary police had arrived from Ndola and Lusaka. Approximately 400 police had been brought.When we arrived there we found that UNIP and Liberal Patriotic Front cadres who had been guarding the place were picked up by police and taken to the police station. They were charged with failing to inform their leaders about the cancellation of the rally. Police had [the previous night] torn down the rally site and Richard Banda had been picked up and interrogated till [morning of the rally] and released. President Mfuni of the Labour Party arrived at 1:15 hours and KK around 2:15 hours, at which time Richard Banda had been released. He briefed us on the state of affairs and President Mtonga of the Grassroots Welfare Party.
We asked him to take us to the rally site and found that it had indeed been removed and there were a lot of paramilitary officers, some even in tree tops. We got back in the car and drove to the UNIP office to inform our supporters that the rally had been cancelled. On that day, the whole town was full of paramilitary armed to the teeth and chasing people; preventing them from entering the town.
We and our supporters were standing under the fig tree that is near the UNIP office and some of our supporters who tried to join us were severely beaten up and chased. We stood up and said "tiyende pamodzi" [lets walk together]. Richard Banda was the first to address them but even before he had finished speaking the police fired tear gas at the gathering. We rushed into the UNIP building and because it was smoky we went to the third floor. We washed our faces and applied Vaseline in order to lessen the effect of the tear gas. Three minutes later we heard police speaking through a megaphone ordering us to get out or else. They wanted to smoke us out like mice. We asked our officers to go outside and check to see if it was safe for us to come out. This is because the only cars outside were ours. So we walked down. I sat in front with Dr Mfuni. In the back there was Dr. Kaunda, his security officer, Malimba Masheke, and Mwangala Zaloumis. As soon as we sat down, three cans of tear gas were fired into the car. The whole vehicle was in gas and we opened our windows. As soon as our driver tried to drive off, the car was blocked in front and behind. The driver swerved to the right and still was blocked by yet another car.
It was then that an armed policeman from the top of the building with a telescopic lens shot a live bullet which hit me in the neck. Another bullet went through the back of the GX [vehicle] and grazed Dr Kaunda's head. Our driver then drove off. However, we were pursued relentlessly. Mrs Zaloumis noticed that I was bleeding furiously and suggested that we rush to hospital. We turned and rushed back towards the Kabwe General Hospital. It was when we reached the hospital that I realized that I had been shot and could not even move my legs. The hospital staff wheeled me into hospital. I was treated for blood pressure with an injection. Dr Major General Brian Chituwo then informed me that I had to undergo an operation at 17:00 hrs. I was also given an antibiotic to contain infection. At about fifteen minutes before the operation, the electric power was cut from the hospital. Later at 19:00 hrs when the electricity was returned, I was wheeled into the theater where the doctor removed the debris, cleaned the wound and stitched it closed with seven stitches. I was put on a drip. I had lost three liters of blood.
The surprising thing is that throughout the whole operation there was a large contingent of paramilitary police standing outside the front of the hospital including many plainclothes intelligence personnel. Later, I managed to ask KK how safe we were (I managed to talk because the bullet had missed the vital organs in my throat) and he stated that we were not safe. So the doctor showed us the rear door and we left using that. We left the hospital at 24 hrs or so. The doctors told the paramilitary that the two opposition leaders were at the mine hospital.
Even my car which had been driven by my driver had its windscreen completely smashed and tear gas thrown into that car. The main object of the whole exercise was to kill whoever was in the car.(53)
Human Rights Watch also interviewed Kaunda's driver Nelson Chimanga and inspected the vehicle with him:
At about 15.30, following Dr Kaunda leading the singing of the National Anthem at our UNIP provincial office, I heard tear gas being fired. Suddenly lots of smoke and people scampered for safety. For a while I couldn't see anybody because of the smoke. Dr Kaunda and the others then rushed into the car and we locked the doors. The police came forward hitting the vehicle with their long batons and the windows with their fists. Telling us to get out. But at the same time they threw tear gas under the vehicle. I expected them to ask Dr Kaunda to go with them to the police station. Instead they just kept firing tear gas. In the smoke everybody was dazed. I just drove off to get out of that place. They fired tear gas at the car, one came into the car because I had opened a window to let out the smoke. When we got out of the smoke, I had to swerve past a police vehicle that tried to block our escape; just before the roundabout, I had to swerve to avoid a second vehicle blocking the road and then a third that was across the road. It was after this vehicle that we heard the bullet. Suddenly Rodger Chongwe was bleeding next to me. We gave him first aid in the vehicle, but because he was bleeding so much, did a U-turn and returned to Kabwe General Hospital. Because of heavy paramilitary police presence I moved the vehicle around the back and we left for Lusaka at around 0300 hrs.(54)
Kenneth Kaunda described to Human Rights Watch what he saw:
A bullet fired by the Zambian police grazed the top of my head. The same bullet much more seriously injured Dr. Chongwe. The trouble started after police destroyed our rally site. I was to have addressed a massive rally with other opposition leaders. But the police destroyed everything and told our supporters to tell us that the rally had been cancelled. Police started firing tear gas at anyone on Kabwe's streets. I myself when I arrived was forced to flee into the UNIP office because thirty of forty tear gas canisters were fired at me and those around me. I could not therefore tell the crowd that was left that we had cancelled the rally. When we came out to leave, the police threatened to shoot our wheels. They then fired more tear gas but the driver swerved and managed to escape various attempts to stop our departure. It was then the police opened up with live ammunition. A bullet grazed my head and struck Dr. Chongwe who was sitting in the front seat, below the right ear. My aide Anthony Mumbi was also slightly injured by shrapnel. I probably would have died except my bodyguard Duncan Mtonga, pushed me to the side when he heard gun shots. I did not hear them.(55)
One of the passengers in the vehicle was UNIP's legal
officer, Mwangala Zaloumis, who provided Human Rights Watch with a written
statement:
Prior to travelling to Kabwe, news had reached Dr Kaunda's office that the police had tried to cancel the rally in Kabwe as early as 0500 hours by arresting UNIP cadres who were guarding the rally site and the platform to be used by the opposition leaders. All the 14 youths were arrested . The special assistant to Dr Kaunda, Rabbison Chongo and others tried in vain to speak to the vice-president, Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda in order to register the party's concern over the same. The vice-president refused to speak to them and some one from his office said he could not disturb the vice-president. With no answer Dr Kaunda and his team left for Kabwe in the early afternoon.Upon arrival in Kabwe, Dr Kaunda joined Rodger Chongwe and I rushed to the police station to find out the reasons behind their arrest. On arrival there I found a Post journalist [Masautso Phiri] arrested after being detained and beaten by police on the alleged offense of disturbing the peace.
I was not allowed to see the 14 youths arrested and detained in police [sic]. I was referred to the Senior Officers who refused to attend to me despite my introducing myself as their lawyer. I was informed that the police officers were too busy maintaining law and order. By this time the whole town was cleared of people.
As I was talking to the second in command about the tense situation Dr. Kaunda and other opposition leaders drove past us and one of the police officers came to tell the second in command that the "subject" had passed. I asked him what he meant by the "subject" and they ignored me.
Dr Kaunda and the others by this time got to the veranda of the UNIP party office and he led the crowd in signing the national anthem. The second in command then announced on the megaphone that the crowd should disperse as they were attending an illegal meeting. It is important to note that the premises where this took place was UNIP's and it was a party meeting, not an illegal rally.
After the singing of the national anthem I asked the police officer whom I was speaking to what he wanted them to do. He told me to go to the police station to apply for a permit. But I noticed that the police officers were closing in around UNIP's building and as I walked towards the crowd a tear gas canister hit my thigh. After that all hell broke loose, tear gas canisters were being shot into the crowd--there was so much we could not see clearly. Coalition member-presidents and most opposition members rushed inside the UNIP office where first aid against the tear gas was being administered. Whilst this was going on I saw police damaging Dr Chongwe's vehicle by smashing the wind-screen and the driver decided to drive away.
The police moved in and tried to deflate Dr Kaunda's cars [car's] tyres; they also demanded that the president's driver get out of the vehicle. In the mean time the whole entourage came out of the office and rushed to the vehicle in order to depart. By then the situation was very tense. A number of tear gas canisters were fired at the vehicle carrying the presidents creating a lot of confusion. Rodger Chongwe and president Mfune got in the front seats with the provincial chairman of UNIP in Central Province. President Kaunda, his body guard and UNIP's chairman General Masheke got in the middle seat; then three security personnel got in the rear seats (Dr Kaunda's vehicle is a Toyota GX Landcruiser).
The vehicle was blocked three times in three different places by police vehicles. At about 200 meters from the Party Offices the presidential vehicle was fired at and at the same time tear gas was fired into the vehicle because the windows were open due to the earlier firing of tear gas around at the bottom of the vehicle. There was a lot of confusion in the vehicle as a result of tear gas smoke. The next thing we saw was blood all over. Dr Chongwe had been hit on the cheek and was bleeding profusely. One of the security personnel who sat next to me in the back was also bleeding. He had been hit by shrapnel in three different places. We immediately went to hospital for medical assistance.(56)
The Zambian government imposed a twenty-four hour news black-out on reporting of the Kabwe shooting, although Zambians are accustomed to tuning into foreign radio or television reports to get news. It was only late on August 24 that the local state media began reporting on the incident. Paramilitary police also patrolled the capital and provincial towns in large numbers up until August 26, fearful of continued protests, although these passed peacefully. President Chiluba on August 26, during a stop-over in Britain on his return from the Far East, denied that the Kabwe shooting was a state-sponsored assassination plot and said that the Zambian police had instigated an investigation and that Nungu Sassasali, the commanding officer at Kabwe, was suspended. However, he rejected calls for an independent inquiry into the incident, claiming that "the important thing is that the investigation is taking place."(57)
The Zambian government appointed a panel to investigate the shooting incident that day, while the police on August 24 denied using live ammunition to disperse crowds in Kabwe.(58)At this time various governments, Amnesty International, and local NGOs and church groups called for an independent probe into the shooting.(59) The Human Rights Commission also issued a statement calling for a prompt inquiry whose results would be made public for remedial action. The commission also "totally condemn[ed] the use of live ammunition or any other offensive weapon when apprehending unarmed persons."(60)
On August 28, President Chiluba arrived back in Zambia from a two-nation Far East tour and said the government would not apologize over the Kabwe shooting as it could not be held responsible for it. However, the president said he did not support the use of excessive force by the police and that there was an investigation into the incident.(61)
On August 31, Home Affairs Minister Chitalu Sampa questioned whether the wounds sustained by Kaunda and Chongwe were real. He stated that: "We have been told that the bullet hit Dr Kaunda on the head, the same bullet went through Dr. Chongwe's cheek, the same bullet again hit the other person in the neck. Honestly, how can that be possible, so we can not conclusively say they were shot by the police."(62)
President Chiluba on November 13 challenged Kaunda and Chongwe to prove that they were shot and wounded in Kabwe. "These two people were not shot," Chiluba said when he met Germany's new envoy to Zambia, Melmuth Schroder. "An AK 47 cannot leave a simple wound. Let them prove to the world they were (shot)," Chiluba said. He did, though, admit that police fired in the air as they tried to break up the opposition rally. He also challenged the Human Rights Commission to carry out an independent probe into the incident.(63)
The Human Rights Commission has decided to hold a public hearing to establish the facts of what exactly happened in Kabwe, to review current international and Zambian law and Zambian policy on freedom of assembly and association and to review standards on the use of firearms and live ammunition at both legal and illegal public gatherings. The commission hopes to make recommendations on each of these areas. However, as of May 1998 the commission has moved slowly, telling diplomats that only if it secures funds can it proceed, although it has made a twenty minute video reconstruction of the Kabwe shooting.(64) The police have also failed to make any public statement on the shooting although it is now many months after the incident.
Analysis of the Medical Records, Shrapnel, Cartridges and the Damage to the Car
Human Rights Watch has obtained a copy of the state medical report on the injuries in Kabwe, inspected and photographed the vehicle, photographed cartridges picked up in Kabwe near the scene of the incident, and photographed the bullet and shrapnel reportedly found in the car by UNIP. These reports and photographs were then examined by a forensic medical and ballistics specialist for an expert opinion.
The medical report states:(65)
1. Dr. K.D. KAUNDAThe patient complained of having sustained a wound above the forehead allegedly from a gunshot. On examination he was fully conscious. There was 1 cm superficial wound above the head in the mid line. The wound was cleaned and dressed; anti tetanus toxoid [unclear] ml intra muscular was given, tab paracetamil and septrin were commenced. The BP was 130-100, subsequently BP rose to 160:120.
Dr Rodger Chongwe (MALE ADULT)
Admitted on the 23rd August complaining of gunshot on face and neck. On admission, he looked ill, the BP was 90/80. Local examination reviewed puncture wound on the right cheek communicating with bleeding open wound on the upper aspect of the neck. There were no other injuries. Treatment consisted of pressure bandage to stop the bleeding 1V 5% dextrose 11 stat. anti-teanus toxoid 0.5 stat hydrocorisone 100 mg IV stat
Approximately half an hour later (16.10 hrs) patient reviewed.
The following were the findings--pulse 100 per minute BP 150/110
The following were commenced, cristapen 2 mega units IV stat, radiographs of the skull and cervical spine showed no fracture, but a suspicious, radio--opaque body under the skin where the wound was. Treatment consisted of diazepan 10 ml stat, lasix 40 mg IV stat.
Under local anaesthetic the following were the findings:
a) 4 cm wound interior/ posterior to the right pinna
b) A fractured outer table of the mastoid bone and
c) A wound communicating with a puncture in the cheek
PROCEDURE
Edges on the wound excised and cleaned, then infiltrated with one percent lignocaine, irrigated with cristapen/saline solution, sutured and a glove drain inserted.
POST OPERATIVE CARE
Gentamycine 80 mg 1 ml stat 8 hourly, to remove drain after 24 hours.
Rodger Chongwe also had an independent analysis of his
injury done in Australia by St. John of God Hospital, Subiaco. The report
by a Dr. Ian Morison stated:(66)
SKULLA small metallic foreign body can be seen in the soft tissues beneath the skull base close to the skin surface consistent with the history of a gunshot wound. No intracranial bodies can be seen. There is no evidence of fracture of skull base.
MANDIBLE
The mandible is intact
CT OF CRANIUM
A small metallic fragment is noted in the soft tissues in the posterior aspect of the cervical region close to the skin surface and this is best demonstrated on Image 4. There is a healing fracture of the inferior tip of the mastoid process on the right side again best demonstrated on Images 4 and 1 on Sheet 2. The rest of the skull base remains intact. No abnormality can be seen in middle ear or mastoid air cells above the level of the abnormality demonstrated. There is a small bone fragment in the soft tissues overlying the mastoid process and no abnormality can be seen within the posterior fossa of the skull.
Human Rights Watch showed the medical reports, photographs, and Human Rights Commission video to Dr Richard Shepherd of the Forensic Medicine Unit, St George's Hospital Medical School, London for an expert assessment. Dr. Shepherd concluded that:(67)
From the evidence that I've seen one can say for sure that a bullet hit the vehicle and then as it entered it sprayed fragments throughout the vehicle, a bit like an angry swarm of bees. The injuries sustained by Kaunda, Chongwe, and Kaunda's aide all are consistant with this. Rodger Chongwe is lucky to be alive. If the shrapnel had hit him a couple of inches to the left he would have been dead. The trajectory of the bullet hole is slightly downwards suggesting that who ever fired the shot was slightly elevated, from the back of a lorry, that sort of height. The angle does not suggest a shot from a tree or roof top.
Human Rights Watch also sought the expert opinion of a
firearms and ballistics specialist, Dr. Graham Renshaw. He examined the
photographs taken by Human Rights Watch of the bullet hole in Kaunda's
car, photographs of a bullet cartridge found near the scene of the incident
the day after the rally, and a photograph of a bullet that UNIP claimed
was extracted from the vehicle after the incident. Renshaw explained to
Human Rights Watch:
One bullet clearly penetrated the vehicle through the back. I have identified the cartridge as a 762mm X 51 Nato case with a head stamp indicating that it was manufactured in the former Yugoslavia in 1973. The bullet is consistant with the cartridge. It is a Ball Round, with its lead or steel core missing. The bullet, with its folds bent backwards, suggests it had pierced three layers of metal--consistent with penetrating the vehicle. The actual type of assault rifle used is more difficult to establish. It could be a non-Russian AK-47 but is more likely to be a G-3 or Belgian FAR which always use 762mm X 51 ammunition.The bullet hole in Kaunda's vehicle is consistent with the bullet and cartridge. With this information it might be possible to match the bullet with the firearm that fired it. While one can not say that this was an assassination attempt, one can say for sure that all the passengers in the car are lucky to be alive. If the bullet had hit a window it would have been able to kill somebody straight. It was slowed down and displaced by going through metal.(68)
On October 28, 1997, Zambians woke to a voice from their national radio station announcing the overthrow of the government by "Operation Born Again."
The speaker identified himself as "Captain Solo" and claimed to speak on behalf of a "national redemption council" whose aim was to "save our nation from collapse." The radio broadcasts began just after 6 a.m., when "Solo" claimed his troops had surrounded the radio station and State House. In his speeches he criticized the government for corruption.
The radio broadcasts demanded that President Chiluba surrender by 9 a.m. "Solo" also declared that the constitution was suspended, all political activity banned and that all airports were closed. He also warned that "When you hear about the firing squad, you might just have heard of it. But we will show it on television, you will see what we mean by firing squad. Culprits will not undergo trial, those who will see what we mean by firing squad. Culprits will not undergo trial, those who will be found to contravene with these specific orders broadcasted by Captain Solo."(69)
The coup attempt was undertaken by a small number of soldiers led by Captains Steven Lungu (Capt. Solo) and Captain Jack Chiti. One group of soldiers led by Lungu went to Mukango barracks and ordered members of 1st Infantry Brigade to drive armoured vehciles to the radio station where they would receive further orders. These soldiers drove their armored cars to capture the radio station, while another from Arakan barracks planned to take hostage Zambian army commander Lieutenant General Nobby Simbeye and have him broadcast to the nation. The Arakan group, led by Captain Jack Chiti, failed to find Simbeye but intimidated his wife and later helped themselves to his refrigerator-full of Windhoek Export beer. Simbeye escaped over his back wall and raised the alarm.
There were never rebel troops around State House and loyal troops promptly surrounded the radio station. A limited armed exchange followed. By 8:00 a.m. "Solo" had stopped broadcasting, the radio station was mostly back under government control, and some mutinous soldiers at the radio station had stripped off their uniforms and run away. Another group had barricaded themselves in the radio's offices. A commando unit quickly overwhelmed the few that tried to resist. Around fifteen soldiers were immediately arrested and at least one rebel soldier was fatally shot. At 8:36, a Lt. Col. Siame announced on the radio that the government was back in control and that all the culprits had been arrested. State television later broadcast "Solo" laying on the ground and being stamped and kicked by a group of soldiers.(70)
The coup attempt was neutralized in three hours. The security forces mopped up for several days. While this was occurring, marches and rallies supporting the government occurred across the country. The opposition also condemned the coup attempt. UNIP president Kaunda issued a statement from South Africa; the ZDC and LPF also issued statements. Religious groups, human rights groups, and other NGOs all stated their disapproval of the coup attempt.
Although the government appeared fully in control and immediately after the coup attempt down-played what occurred, President Chiluba declared a state of emergency on October 29 following a special cabinet meeting. It was justified by the authorities as facilitating police investigations into the attempted coup attempt.(71)
Although roundly condemned by NGOs and civic groups in
Zambia, they expressed their fear that the state would be tempted to abuse
the extra powers it had due to the declaration of a state of emergency.
The state-run newspaper Times of Zambia attacked this in an editorial:
Zambians are sick and tired of pseudo human rights activists who seem totally out of touch with reality, and whose perception of danger is totally warped and at variance with the rest of the population. Even when confronted with the sordid threat of a military coup, the so-called human rights advocates have already ganged up in defence of the wrongdoers. Government declared a state of emergency ostensibly to protect the liberties of the majority whose fundamental rights and liberties have been curtailed by the coup plotters.(72)
President Chiluba in his speech at the opening of parliament on January 16, 1998, added:
The fears and anxieties expressed by traditional nay-sayers regarding human rights violations during the state of emergency have proved unfounded. The state of emergency has not interfered with the normal daily lives or the fundamental freedoms and liberties of our people.On January 29, 1998, parliament renewed the state of emergency for a further ninety days. The government defended the extension by saying "every innocent Zambian national or visitor will continue to enjoy unfettered rights. This enjoyment of human rights extends also to business people or foreign investors in Zambia."(73) The state of emergency was lifted on March 17 by President Chiluba who stated that its lifting was to assure the outside world that Zambia is a democratic country.(74) Parliament ratified President Chiluba's revocation of the state of emergency on March 24.
International and National Standards
Article 4 of the ICCPR, to which Zambia acceded in 1984, states that some fundamental rights cannot be suspended or limited. A state is prohibited from suspending Articles, 6, 7, 8, (paragraphs 1 and 2), 11, 15, 16, and 18, which include the right to life and to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the right to recognition as a person before the law. Other rights and freedoms may only be limited "to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation," and in a manner not "inconsistent with [the state's] other obligations under international law."
The U.N. Human Rights Committee has also noted that "measures taken under Article 4 [relating to a state of emergency] are of an exceptional and temporary nature and may only last as long as the life of the nation concerned is threatened and that, in time of emergency, the protection of human rights becomes all the more important, particularly those rights from which derogations can be made."(75)
The Human Rights Committee also stated in its conclusions that:(76)
The Committee urges the authorities to take the necessary steps to ensure that torture, ill-treatment and illegal detention do not occur and that any such cases are duly investigated by an independent authority in order to bring before the courts those accused of having committed such acts and to punish them if found guilty.The Constitution of Zambia permits the derogation of rights that are non-derogable under the ICCPR. The U.N. Human Rights Committee, in its concluding observations on Zambia's report on compliance with the ICCPR, noted that "the lack of clarity of the legal provisions governing the introduction and administration of a state of emergency, particularly sections 31 and 32 of the Constitution, which would permit derogations contravening the State party's obligations under article 4, paragraph 2, of the Covenant. The Committee is also concerned that the derogation of rights permissible under section 25 of the Constitution goes far beyond that permissible under article 4, paragraph 2, of the Covenant." (77) The committee recommended that "the authorities adopt legislation to bring the domestic regime, including section 25 of the Constitution, into harmony with the State party's obligations under article 4 of the Covenant."(78)
Under the state of emergency authorized police officers do not need a warrant to search any premises or arrest anyone: people can be detained for up to twenty-eight days without charge.(79) The president is also granted extraordinary power to indefinitely detain any individual. The constitution only states that under a state of emergency a notice must be published in the Government Gazette giving the name, the place and law under which detentions were made within fourteen days.(80)
There was pressure from the international donor community for the government to drop provisions for states of emergency. In April 1993 President Chiluba assured the donor community that the government would work out laws to deal with situations that may require a state of emergency. "Necessary legislation would be made to deal with such cases in their proper perspective," Chiluba said. To date no such laws have been legislated.(81)
Political Detentions Under the State of Emergency(82)
After the coup attempt the government moved first against soldiers suspected of involvement in the coup. As many as 108 detainees were held, although by late January the government began to release a small number. The Human Rights Commission in early January called for speedy trials, demanding "that the detaining authorities expeditiously charge the detained persons and take them to court, or have them released. The continued detention of restricted persons, although lawful under the current state of emergency, is not conducive to the building of a culture of human rights in Zambia, upon which democracy depends."(83)
On February 25 seventy-two soldiers and the ZDC leader Dean Mung'omba appeared in court, where they were formally charged with treason, some three months after they had been detained. Treason carries a mandatory death sentence, although the president can offer clemency.(84) Former president Kaunda and one of his aides were charged a few days before with concealing information on the revolt, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A Human Rights Watch observer was present in Lusaka in the Supreme Court in March 1998 when Kaunda and, later, Mung'omba and over seventy soldiers were brought before the court. There was tight security with over one hundred armed paramilitary police around the court building and thirty in the court room itself and a number of others at each exit. Other armed police were stationed on the roof and the court complex was surrounded with barbed wire coils.(85)
By mid-April eighty-two people had been charged in connection with the coup, the remainder having been released (one died in custody). What had been three batches of detainees were also merged to make one group of eighty-two. A small number of those in detention are not soldiers but politicians.
The trial of the eighty-two has yet to begin, although on April 23 a certificate of committal for summary trial by the director of public prosecutions was read out in the High Court.(86) However, the defense team is still waiting for the trial to commence and to get access to depositions and testimonies of witnesses from the prosecution. Members of the defence team interviewed by Human Rights Watch expressed their concern that investigations were continuing and that the government was in no hurry to see tangible progress in the case. Meanwhile the health of a number of the detainees deteriorated.
Immediately after the coup attempt on October 29, the government publicly claimed that the opposition was not involved. Richard Sakala, the presidential spokesperson told journalists that "The government is not suspicious that the opposition was behind the coup attempt." But the next day the tune changed. President Chiluba at a public rally said: "We had the Zero Option, maybe we moved too fast and lost the case in court. This time the evidence is there. We found them in action. But the courts will have to try them. I see a silver lining in this cloud."(87) Chiluba also warned that: "So far, a lot of information has come through those arrested. They have started telling the truth. I am enjoying this situation because everything is unfolding."(88)
Dean Mung'omba, the leader of the Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC), was picked up by eight police officers at his house on October 31, 1997.(89) The police then held Mung'omba incommunicado at Force Headquarters in Lusaka for four days despite repeated attempts by his lawyers to gain access. During this time Mung'omba was reportedly tortured and denied food and drink.(90) His lawyers only gained access to their client when he appeared in court on November 4, 1997 to challenge his detention.
Dean Mung'omba's personal secretary, Priscilla Chimba was arrested a few days later on November 12 at her home. She was released but later re-detained. Like her boss, she was initially denied legal representation and her whereabouts were not known. She told the Lusaka High Court in December that she was detained because she gave an interview to the Post newspaper that had embarrassed the police officers that had questioned her, because she had commented on their poor English.(91) Eventually the state claimed she was detained for having attended two meetings held by Dean Mung'omba and army officer Major Kangwa in September 1997 at which the two men allegedly plotted the coup attempt. On February 28 Chimba was released without government comment. She told Human Rights Watch that,(92)
I don't understand why I was picked up. But I'm glad its over now I plan to have a long holiday, with views of space. I wasn't treated badly in Kabwe but I'm sure the police re-arrested me because I commented to the media on the poor standards of English of those questioning me. I'm afraid and want a quiet life, so I'll keep a low profile from now on.The detentions did not end with Chimba. A sixty-seven-year-old freelance journalist, author and UNIP member, Frederick Mwanza, was arrested early on November 14 by a group of police.(93) They searched his home and office in his presence before he was taken to Force Headquarters. Mwanza described what had happened to him:
I thank the Lord Jesus and those who prayed for my release. I've never been in prison before and don't want to go back. Once is enough in sixty-seven years and it was for over one hundred days! These days it seems to have been easier to give the British their marching orders. You see these people practice savage capitalism, they have no shame. They don't like free-thinking people. I was treated reasonably well except that during questioning at Force Headquarters some nasty officer lost his patience at my pleading of innocence, so he hit me with one of those large electric fans. I had a big bruise to my head because of that.(94)
His family and lawyers did not know where he was held until he appeared in court on November 19.
Mwanza challenged the grounds of his detention: a claim he was present at a meeting with other coup plotters at a farmhouse. After the owner of the farm house denied these allegations, the state withdrew the specific charges and claimed that Mwanza attended a meeting or meetings in September. But the four witnesses named by police in Mwanza's "grounds for detention" denied in court knowing Mwanza and reported that they had been tortured in an attempt to implicate him. Mwanza also denied all allegations linking him to the coup attempt. Finally on February 25 Mwanza was released from prison, without formal comment by the government.
On December 23, UNIP's head of physical security, Moyce Kaulung'ombe, was detained by police and questioned about the coup attempt. Unlike the others he was granted immediate access to his lawyers and family. He was held for fourteen days without charge, then provided the "grounds for detention" on December 31. The charges against him are vague--claiming he went to a bar where he met with unknown people at which he "discussed the removal of Government by unconstitutional means." On February 12, High Court Judge Irene Mabilima found his detention illegal and ordered his release. His freedom was short lived. A few minutes later he was rearrested outside the court room on criminal charges of "mis-prison of treason" and has since been kept in Lusaka Central prison.
UNIP leader Kenneth Kaunda was detained on Christmas day. Some one hundred heavily armed police, some of them in a troop carrier, surrounded his Lusaka home just three days after he returned home after two months travel abroad.(95) After spending the night at Kamwala Remand prison in Lusaka, Kaunda was moved to Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison in Kabwe, without his lawyers being informed. Kaunda began a hunger strike that ended several days later after ex-Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere visited him and encouraged him to eat. He was then moved back on December 31 to Lusaka and put under house arrest.
Human Rights Watch obtained police permission to visit Kaunda in his Lusaka home on March 10 and found him in good spirits. He explained what had happened to him.
I am OK. The police treat me fine in my house. The worst bit was straight after my arrest. I spent the night in Kamwala Remand. As you know conditions are sordid there for everybody. I got no sleep as there were thirty other inmates in a tiny cell built for five. I was then moved to Kabwe and conditions were better. I started a hunger strike but my wife threatened to stop taking her insulin--so I agreed to take water. Nyerere convinced me to break the strike and eat some fruit with him. I am innocent. I have always supported peaceful protest. This is just vengeance politics--making sure the opposition is weak.On December 31, President Chiluba had ordered that Kaunda be transferred to house arrest as a "restricted person." He was held using Section 33 of the Preservation of Security Act, banning him from political activity, prohibiting him from giving interviews to the press, and restricting visitor access to the house. His house was also surrounded by barbed wire, had a paramilitary police camp outside and police guards armed with AK-47s and live ammunition. (96) Officially visitors were only allowed on Tuesdays for interviews with Kaunda of less than twenty minutes and in groups of five or less. In April, after the state of emergency, was lifted Kaunda's house was declared a prison, and responsibility for him moved from the police to prisons.
Kenneth Kaunda's wife, Betty encountered problems in January in gaining access to her house and getting support for her diabetic problems. Some of her family were also removed by the inspector general of police. The Human Rights Commission issued a press statement on January 5, stating that "Mrs Kaunda is not a restricted person and the conditions placed on her restricted husband should not be extended to her including the prevention of people wanting to visit her at the Kaunda's Kalundu home. Mrs Kaunda's human rights and fundamental freedoms should be respected."(97) The commission also noted that Regulation 12(1)(c) prohibited a restricted person from communicating "with any member of the press or any person not authorised by the Inspector-General of Police." But as Article 11(b) of the Zambian Bill of Rights, in the Zambian Constitution, protects every person's rights to express their views, and Article 18(2)(a) of the constitution a person is presumed innocent until a court of law has found them guilty, the commission noted that, "he must not be prevented from the enjoyment of other human rights and fundamental freedoms, apart for the loss of the right of his to move freely which has been restricted."(98)
Princess Mirriam Nakatindi Wina, the MMD National Chairperson for Women's Affairs and a member of parliament, was detained by police on January 28, 1998.(99) She is the only senior member of the ruling party under detention. She has been arrested because on October 30 she gave a speech at a huge pro-government rally in support of President Chiluba at which she blamed Chiluba for not listening to her warnings that there might be a coup plot against him--suggesting to the government that she had prior knowledge.
Princess Nakatindi had been held in Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison in Kabwe but suffered from anxiety attacks and high blood pressure. Human Rights Watch visited her while she was a patient at the Maina Soko Military Hospital in Lusaka. She told us, "I am innocent. I don't understand why after helping to get the MMD into power and maintaining it there they do this to me. Its cruel and inhuman. I'm treated as a common criminal when I've done nothing wrong."(100)
She was charged with treason in her hospital bed on March 5, 1998. On March 20 President Chiluba ordered that she be returned to Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison although it was clear that she continued to suffer from complications from a hip operation and her blood pressure remained high. On April 1 she was transferred to Kabwe Mine Hospital. Her son, Wina Wina, met with Human Rights Watch in April and expressed his family's concern over her deteriorating health. He also told Human Rights Watch that his mother had applied through the Human Rights Commission to be allowed to attend the burial of her brother Richard Nganga on March 20, but was with no notice picked up by security agents on the same day and transferred to Kabwe.(101)
Human Rights Watch is also concerned about the reports that incarcerated ZDC president Dean Mung'omba has contracted TB while in jail.(102)
There is no dispute that torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is forbidden under international law. Article 7 of the ICCPR, to which Zambia is a party, provides: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Article 10 (1) states "All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person."
Deaths resulting from torture or mistreatment in detention also violate the individual's right to life set forth in Article 6(1) of the ICCPR.
1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.The Human Rights Committee on its comments on Zambia's report on compliance with the ICCPR also urged the Zambian government in paragraph 24 to:The U.N. Human Rights Committee issued General Comment 7(1) under the ICCPR, stating:
Complaints of ill-treatment must be investigated effectively by competent authorities. Those found guilty must be held responsible, and the alleged victims must themselves have effective remedies at their disposal, including the right to obtain compensation.(104)
take the necessary steps to ensure that torture, ill-treatment and illegal detention do no occur and that any such cases are duly investigated by an independent authority in order to bring before the courts those accused of having committed such acts and to punish them if found guilty.(105)The Law Association of Zambia's human rights chairman, Henry Chanda, on March 19 told participants at a Human Rights Commission workshop in Lusaka to discuss freedom from torture and other civil and political rights, and that the judicial system in Zambia admits evidence in whatever way it is obtained. "Because of this police agents got to torture [sic] suspects just to get information because they know it will be accepted by the court," Chanda said. Chanda called on the courts to stop accepting evidence obtained through torture.(106)
Early on November 1, 1997, according to his sworn affidavit, a group of up to fifteen police officers began torturing Dean Mung'omba at Force Headquarters, suspending him between two tables, hung by his handcuffed hands and bound legs from a metal rod. The officers then beat him. This is called "the Kampelwa," ("the swing"). Mung'omba alleges he was tortured again later the same day and that officers tried to get him to implicate Kenneth Kaunda in the coup attempt. He also speaks of the application of burning cigarettes to his body and the application of electric shocks through his handcuffs; he said he was also deprived of sleep and of food and water for the first four days of detention.(107) Human Rights Watch obtained a medical report and photographs which in its opinion and that of independent professional medical opinion showed a condition consistant with allegations of torture. A letter by Mung'omba smuggled out of prison in early November also describes the treatment of other detainees at Lusaka Central Prison, including "forcing a burning match stick into someone's mouth and forcing them to chew and swallow it." He also described, "beating and slapping detainees over nothing except that it was pleasurable to the police officers."(108) Mung'omba has also told his lawyers that he saw Captain Steven Lungu lying unconscious on the floor of a police cell after a torture session.
When Mung'omba appeared at Lusaka's High Court on November 4, John Sangwa, one of his lawyers told the press that, "He has scars on his hands and bruises all over. He has been tortured. He has lost a lot of weight. He looks like a patient from a hospital."(109)
Captain Jack Chiti told the court that he too was tortured during the six days following his detention on October 28. He was also put on "the swing" and officers tried to get him to implicate opposition politician Rodger Chongwe in the coup attempt. Chiti said he had falsely implicated Chongwe because he had been tortured. He also apologized to Kaunda saying he had named him too because of torture.(110)
After his detention on November 2, Major Musonda Kangwa
was also tortured during police interrogation. He was held incommunicado
until November 11 when the court intervened, ordering medical treatment
because Kangwa still complained of pain due to the injuries he suffered
from torture. Human Rights Watch saw Major Kangwa in court during his habeas
corpus application on November 25. He looked pale, weak and had a badly
swollen left eye. He described what happened to him to the court and in
an affidavit, some of which is cited here:
7. Upon arrival at Force Headquarters in Lusaka I was handed over to the Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr Teddy Nondo who took me in an interrogation room where I found almost 15 Police Officers in plain clothes.Human Rights Watch visited Senior Superintendent Musole at Force Headquarters and asked him about policing tactics. He replied, "we have high standards here. Every part of our investigations is scientific. We always work within the rule of law." (112)8. That consequent to the contents of paragraph 7 above I was asked several questions relating to the attempted coup of 28th October, 1997 and what I had done with the money I allegedly received from Mr Dean Mung'omba which was intended to finance the Coup Plot [sic]. I denied having received any money from Mr Mung'omba as alleged or having any deals with him in relation to the Coup plot [sic] or at all.
9. That consequent upon the contents of paragraph 8 above the Police Officers having not been satisfied with my response they thereupon hand-cuffed me and tied both my legs and put me on a swing which was suspended between two tables and started beating me on both my feet and hands [asking what I had done with] the money Mr Mung'omba gave me. I denied ever receiving any money from Mung'omba as alleged and further that I had never met Mr Mung'omba personally but only see him on Television and in Newspapers.
10. That I was also asked about a meeting I had allegedly attended with Princess Nakatindi Wina, Dr Chongwe and Mr Mung'omba to which I denied having ever attended the alleged meeting with the people mentioned.
11. That the Officers having been not satisfied with my answers continued to torture me by hitting me all over my body, some with Karate Chops [sic] others with short batons while others slapped me on my head and face, including Teddy Nondo who heat [sic] me very hard on my left eye causing blood shots in the eye and swelling on the area around the said eye
12. That the first session on the swing lasted from 17:50 hours to 20:20 hours while the Officers continued to torture me, and at times being blind folded so that I could not see who was beating me until I passed out.
13. That when I regained consciousness I found myself on the floor with the Police Officers waiting and immediately put me on the swing to start interrogation all over again which lasted for almost one hour after which I was dragged in the corridor and left in a corner at the far end of the said corridor where cleaning materials are kept.
14. That about 22:00 hours on the same day Mr Nondo came back and I was put on the swing again and same questions were repeated and he told me that if I did not tell the truth I would be killed and everything would be arranged in such a way that it would look like an accident but I denied knowledge of the allegations, which resulted in further beating lasting another 30 minutes
15. That consequent to the contents of paragraph 14 above I was dropped to the floor and dragged in [sic] the same corner where I was kept in hand-cuffs for the whole night with no blankets, exposed to mosquitos and without food until the next morning.
16. That the interrogations and torture continued every day up to 5th November, 1997 as a result of which I could not talk for three days and received a big wound across my shoulders, scars all over my body, chest pains, numbness in both hands and general body pains. Further that I had at this moment lost the will and capacity to reason due to excruciating pain experienced [sic] from the Police Torture [sic]
17. That from 2nd to 15th November, 1997 I was not allowed to receive visitors, food, medical treatment and access to my legal counsel in violation of my rights as a detained person
18. That I was on 5th November, 1997 served with a Detention Order which was withdrawn on 6th November, 1997 when I was served with another Detention Order
19. That to date I have not been served with grounds for my detention
20. That I verily believe that my continued detention is unlawful and further that I am a victim of circumstances, hate, conjecture, rumours and personal vendetta
21. That the Police have refused me access to my Medical Report which was obtained from the University Teaching Hospital after a Court Order and I verily believe that the same has been destroyed by the said Police Officers in particular Mr. Musole.
22. That the facts herein contained are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.(111)
Although there was a successful court challenge to Kangwa's police detention order, a High Court judge sent him back into custody after he was issued with a Presidential Detention Order. Kangwa has denied the charges that he took part in the coup attempt and provided money to Captains Lungu and Chiti. He claims he was detained due to jealousy. His wife claimed that he was also picked out because he was the Post sales agent at the barracks.(113)
The Legal Resources Foundation is defending thirty-five detainees and maintains that Jack Chiti; Steven Lungu; Mananse Baldwin; Nelson Mbuzi; Bilex Mutale; Joseph Sichangala; Kennedy Simuntala and Fisher Tapisha were tortured. Also allegedly beaten by police while in detention were, Lubaba Mulungushi, Kennedy Muzata, Axon Swana, and Berringtone Mkoma.
The Legal Resources Foundation told Human Rights Watch that Major Bilex Mutale was severely tortured, that there is a medical report to confirm this, and that the prison authorities refused to take him in as he was in a terrible state when he was initially handed over after interrogation at Force Headquarters.(114) Mutale told the court he was beaten by two police officers using short batons and told to implicate Dean Mung'omba in the coup attempt. He also denied knowledge of Frederick Mwanza and other detainees. He told the court that he was threatened to become "Brought in Dead" if he did not admit to having received money from Mung'omba. He was also denied food and water.(115)
One of the detainees, Corporal Robert Chiulo, died after November 7 at Lusaka's Maina Soko Military Hospital. The hospital officially told Human Rights Watch that he died of malaria, but other medical sources at the hospital told us that he died of injuries received under torture. According to his wife, Patricia Mwewa, her husband had been shot in the thigh when he was arrested at the ZNBC studios. She said his health had improved until November 7 when she was barred by security officials from seeing her husband, who said he had malaria. She tried every day to see her husband until November 30 when she was informed he had died.(116) Human Rights Watch was told that a post mortem had not been done.(117) Human Rights Watch believes that there should be an independent inquiry into this case.
One of the police officers that detainees have consistantly alleged was involved in torture is acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Teddy Nondo. Despite these allegations Teddy Nondo was promoted on April 3 to become deputy commissioner of the Drug Enforcement Commission.(118)
The Human Rights Commission's Response
After the coup attempt, the Human Rights Commission was blocked for more than ten days by the police from gaining access to the thirty-odd detainees that were being interrogated (and some reportedly tortured) at Zambia Police Force Headquarters. The commission on November 4, 1997, after the prisoners were transfered to the prison system, announced that it would immediately visit all detainees.(119) But on November 7 it was turned away from Lusaka Central Prison (also called Chimbokaila Remand Prison). This was in contravention of its mandate which states that it can "visit prisons and places of detention or related facilities with a view to assessing and inspecting conditions of the persons held in such places and make recommendations to redress existing problems..."(120) A commission press statement protested the obstruction:(121)
Unfortunately, since Monday the detaining authorities have not indicated their preparedness for the Commission to visit detained persons wherever they are being held.On November 9 the commission was able to visit the first detainees being held at Lusaka Central Prison. Justice Chibesakunda, the commission chair, stated in a press statement that:(122)In these circumstances the Commission has decided to call on the Police Service Headquarters, pursuant to the powers vested in it by section 9, to assess the condition of persons detained there on Friday morning and thereafter make its recommendations on its findings.
the detainees at Chimbokaila were in good condition except for two who complained of having been tortured. Some of the detainees, who included Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC) President Dean Mung'omba, Major Berrington Mukoma and Sergeant Norman Tembo, complained of starvation, lack of medical treatment and congestion of the cells. Prison officials undertook to ensure that medical attention was provided to detainees who needed it.Although the commission established that torture had occurred, Justice Chibesakunda and three other commissioners and the chairpersons of the commission's committees left the same day as the press statement for a week-long study tour in Sweden at the Raul Wallenberg Institute in Lund and in Stockholm. (123)Judge Chibesakunda assured the detainees that the Commission was doing everything possible to ensure that the United Nations minimum standards on treatment of detained persons, were observed. These include access to legal representation, medical treatment and visits from family members.
During the period the commissioners were in Sweden a Human Rights Watch researcher visited Zambia and tried fruitlessly to gain access to the detainees in Lusaka Central Prison.(124) Human Rights Watch subsequently asked Commissioner Chibesakunda on her return from Sweden to assist in gaining access. However, attempts on November 24 and 25 through the commission also failed, with the Ministry of Home Affairs stating that there was no need for independent international monitoring because the Human Rights Commission did the job adequately.(125)
On December 1, the Human Rights Commission called a press
conference at the Hotel Intercontinental in Lusaka, briefed the press about
its work, and commented on the allegations of torture. They stated that:(126)
The visits to various prisons afforded the Commission an opportunity to inspect facilities currently available for inmates and in particular to interview those detained in connection with the October 28 [1997] attempted coup d'etat.We learnt that the majority of detainees at Lusaka Central, Kamwala Remand, Mukobeko Maximum and Kamfinsa, were not physically tortured by the detaining authorities whilst at the Police Service Headquarters in Lusaka.
All detainees were unanimous in stating that no physical torture took place outside Police Service Headquarters and that conditions were generally better at Mukobeko and Kamfinsa Prisons than at Lusaka Central and Kamwala Remand Prisons.
Some detainees at Kamfinsa, Lusaka Central