Amnesty International Gives Michael Sata a Final Grade

Human Rights watchdog Amnesty International held press conference in Johannesburg today to unveil its 2014/2015 annual report, and the news for Zambia is not very positive.
The NGO announced that its report had found that hundreds of people across the Southern Africa region who dared to challenge their governments or demand accountability have either been killed, arrested, imprisoned after unfair trials for reasons of conscience or disappeared without a trace.
Zambia however does not figure among the worst human rights offenders, which Amnesty International identifies as Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, where repressive actions by governments have been on the rise over the past year.
“We are seeing a disturbing emerging pattern in Southern Africa where people are being criminalised for exercising their freedom of assembly, association and expression. The misuse of force has also been adopted as a means to crush dissent. This has to stop,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for the Southern Africa region.
With regard to the human rights situation in Zambia, Amnesty International’s research focused on events preceding the death of President Michael Sata, in particular focusing on the prosecution against opposition leader Father Frank Bwalya, who was brought up on charges (and later acquitted) for calling Sata a “chumbu mushololwa” (sweet potato).
According to the Zambia chapter of the annual report, “The human rights situation continued to decline under the late President Sata’s government. Fundamental freedoms came under attack, with political opponents, civil society and sexual minorities being systematically targeted.”
The report also cites another incident of constitution protesters being mistreated:
“On 12 March, 49 young people were arrested by police during a march to commemorate Youth Day in the capital Lusaka. The young activists were arrested for wearing T-shirts and carrying placards bearing the message “Give us our constitution now”. They were separated and detained for at least six hours, before being cautioned and released. Four of the youths were reportedly assaulted by police officers who beat them with their fists during their detention at Lusaka Central Police Station, resulting in one sustaining a serious ear injury. The activists were allegedly forced to remove their T-shirts, leaving some, including young women, partially undressed,” the report states.
The report also applauded the acquittal of gay rights activist Paul Kasonkomona in February 2014, however they continue to raise concerns over treatment of other LGBTI people by the Zambian government.

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