United States Ambassador to Zambia Mark Storella has added his voice to the country’s deteriorating human rights record under President Michael Sata saying the widely condemned Public Order Act is an archaic law and must be repealed.
President Sata, who while in the opposition opposed the Public Order Act, recently praised it saying he did not know it was a good piece of legislation and he has effectively abused it to block the opposition in the country from holding rallies.
Leading opposition leaders Nevers Mumba of the MMD and Hakainde Hichilema of the UPND have both been arrested and charged for unlawful assembly on the pretext of abrogating the Public Order Act, acts that have widely been condemned as dictatorial by the church and civil society in the country.
Storella, who was speaking in a recorded interview, said the constant harassment of opposition leaders amounted to a violation of Human Rights which his country, as one of the major financial aiders, abhors.
The US envoy said he was not the only one to have note the violations of the law in the government but also the Catholic Bishops through their pastoral letter had highlighted the shortcomings of the government.
“The Public Order Act in its current form goes against the Zambian constitution and the protection of human rights,” Storella said.
“There is a well guided precedence in the Supreme Court ruling in Zambia that puts that matter to rest. The continued muzzling, harassment and brutalizing of opposition leaders goes against the principles of democracy. We are not the only ones saying these things the Catholic Bishops in their pastoral letter dedicated a significant portion highlighting the deterioration of governance in the country.”
Zambia has in the recent past taken global stage for its fast deteriorating governance system that has seen targeted arrests of opposition leaders and ban on political rallies through the abuse of the police by the authorities.
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