SACCORD Urges Police Reform(updated)
SACCORD says true democracy is not a possibility unless the police respect human rights and remain accountable and transparent in their policing.
During the 6th African regional safe communities conference in Livingstone last week themed 'Safety promotion in Africa: Mobilising communities to address injury vulnerabilities and enhance prevention capacities', Southern Africa Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) information officer Obby Chibuluma said civil society organisations had a critical role to play in monitoring police conduct and engaging with the government and other civil society groups and individuals to push for systemic reform, despite the challenges of the current political enviroment.
He said the civil society had an important role to play in making sure that the government reforms the police into a more service-oriented organisation working closely with communities.
“The Human Rights Commission, despite having the mandate to promote and protect people's rights through checking excess of not only police but also government has had difficulties as a result of poor financial support,” Chibuluma said.
“The police in Zambia today still use force with a number of suspects being beaten by police officers. There are also incidents in which police use other detainees to conduct the beatings.
The police also still use force to make suspects confess as well as 'punishment' for failure to adhere to some of the police demands. In the past, a number of suspects have died in police custody with accusations pointing towards the police's use of force in seeking confessions from suspects.”
He said the constitution does not in any way give the police powers to determine who is guilty of committing an offence or not.
Chibuluma said despite the continuous advocacy on the need for the police to respect human rights and the introduction of human rights trainings for the Zambia Police, the conduct of the police has not been impressive.
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