Sikota raises alarm over detainee torture
By Ludia Ngwadzai
TONSE-Pamodzi Alliance national chairman Sakwiba Sikota says he is concerned about the physical and psychological torture of opposition leader Brian Mundubile and 17 others facing treason charges.
In an interview yesterday, Sikota said the treason detainees were being persecuted through prolonged detention and restrictions on access to relatives and friends.
He said the continued detention of the accused without being taken to court for trial had subjected them to immense psychological pressure, raising serious concerns about the state of human rights and democracy in Zambia.
“The UPND promised the United Nations that they would follow the rules and that the treason-charged individuals would be looked after in a decent way, and that there would be a speedy trial if they were going to be charged,” he said.
Sikota said the UPND government had committed to the United Nations that individuals facing treason charges would be detained under decent conditions and, if charged, would face speedy trials.
He said the UPND government had broken that commitment made to the United Nations and other human rights bodies.
“None of the promises the State made to the UN Special Representative have been met. So, it is no wonder that we are sliding down the human rights index,” he said.
Sikota said the country’s human rights situation was worrying because of the decline, which did not take into account recent incidents, including shootings and killings.
He said Zambia had witnessed an unprecedented number of killings, politically related cases, applications for habeas corpus, and bail applications involving individuals held in detention.
“It is really a very sad state that we have so many politically related cases, so many applications for habeas corpus and bail. It is not only the 18 people facing treason charges, but these are just examples,” he said.
Sikota said that under the UPND, many people have been killed, arrested, and detained without court appearance.
“Never in our country have we had so many people held without being taken to court and without being charged, while some who are charged are not being granted bail,” he said.
He said the situation reflected a worrying deterioration in the country’s democratic environment.
Sikota said those detained were facing additional psychological and physical pressure through restrictions on their movements within prison facilities and limitations on access to visitors.
“There is a lot of physical and psychological pressure that they have undergone. It is also in terms of where they can congregate in the prison compound, who can come in to see them, and some of these relatives are being turned away, while some of their friends are being sent away. That is gross psychological pressure,” he said.
He said the continued detention of individuals amid delays in court proceedings raised serious questions about respect for human rights and the rule of law.
