Three years into office, Zambia’s Hichilema condemned by UN experts over rights violations

President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema. (Dan Kitwood/Gallo Images)

Since January 2022, UN experts have received complaints over 26 cases of wanton arrests of government critics in Zambia under President Hakainde Hichilema.They say the arrests have resulted in increased political polarisation and self-censorship.Fred M’membe, the leader of the Socialist Party of Zambia, is the most prominent of those jailed on numerous occasions.

This week, Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema clocked three years in power, but faced condemnation from United Nations special rapporteurs for arbitrary jailing of critics.

The rapporteurs said since January 2022, they had been made aware of 26 cases of wanton arrests, and detentions on charges of unlawful assembly, espionage, and hate speech. 

In a statement, they said, “These practices have resulted in increasing political polarisation and self-censorship,” which inhibit legitimate freedom of opinion, expression, association and assembly – the basic tenants of democracy.

That was the joint assessment from Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association; Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

One of the most prominent cases was the jailing of Fred M’membe, the leader of the Socialist Party of Zambia.

He was released on charges of sedition for publishing a newspaper article alleging an incident of corruption last week.

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Last year, the Law Association of Zambia said the arrests were an attempt to scare critics into silence.

The rapporteurs said that since December 2021, they had also learned of 16 incidents involving media outlets or journalists, in addition to 11 confrontations, assaults, and cases of intimidation and assault.

The majority of the incidents were carried out by members of the ruling party against members and supporters of opposition parties. Information obtained, they said, indicated that the church was also not spared, with reports of clergy arrests and law enforcement interfering with meetings.

The experts said the Zambian government should act within the law in countering hate speech and maintaining a stable society.

“While the government’s actions to counter hate speech, maintain peace and stability, and promote national unity are welcomed, these must be based on national laws that conform to international human rights law and standards,” they said.

The rapporteurs issued their statement while also engaging the government of Zambia to address the concerns.

Last year in March, Zambia co-hosted the second Summit for Democracy with the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Korea.

When Hichilema came into office, Zambia was widely commended for a smooth transition of power as an exemplary country in Southern Africa.

The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

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