The Human Rights Commission (HRC) wishes to call upon the Zambia Police Service to refrain from invading rooms of suspected protesting students, dragging them out of their rooms and brutalise them before detaining them.

The Commission also calls on students to stop the practice of stoning and verbally abusing police officers assigned to maintain law and order at the campuses because it is the constitutional mandate of police officers to maintain law and order as well as protect life and property. Stoning and verbally abusing police officers, or any individual or group of individuals for that matter, is a violation of their inherent rights and dignity.

There is also need for improved dialogue based on mutual respect and trust between the Government and Students who are on the Bursary Scheme. There is need for proactive attention to students needs as opposed to the apparent reactive approach after students have protested.

It is also the view of the HRC that there should be no witch-hunt of suspected students ring leaders in the protest as that may lead to victimisation and violation of their right to education and to freedom of expression.

The HRC is making the recommendations against the back ground of increased complaints of police officers pursuing protesting students into their campuses as it happened during the recent protest at the Copperbelt University (CBU) where Police Officers broke into rooms of some students, teargassed, physically assaulting them before detaining them. Some students complained that during the police operation, students who were not engaged in the protests were picked up, brutalised and detained while others reportedly lost their valuables such as money, mobile phones and laptops from their rooms and accused the police of being responsible.

The observations are based on a two days investigation (15th to 16th December 2017) by HRC regarding the recent beating up and arresting of students at the CBU. During its investigations, the HRC interacted with the Zambia Police Service, including Copperbelt Police Commissioner, Ms Charity Katanga, the CBU Management through the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Naison Ngoma, the interim CBU Students Union, students who were victims of police brutality, management and doctors who attended to the injured students at Kitwe Central Hospital and at the CBU Clinic.

The HRC also attended the meeting between the students and the Ministry of Higher Education Permanent Secretary, Mr. Mabvuto Sakala who was accompanied by Kitwe District Commissioner, Mr. Binwell Mpundu, the Member of Parliament for Kwacha Constituency, Hon. Joseph Malanji and CBU management on 15th December 2017.

The investigations were in line with Article 230 (3) a of the Zambian Constitution which mandates HRC to investigate and report on the observation of human rights and freedoms.
The following is a summary of the HRC’s findings and observations:

1. Delayed payment of meal allowances was the cause of the students’ unrest who started protesting on 5th December 2017. On that day, one (1) student was arrested. On 6th December 2017, four (4) more students were arrested. On Friday 8th December 2017, another 23 students were arrested from their rooms after the police, who had kept vigil for four days at the CBU campus gate, pursued them after students allegedly stoned them and verbally abused them. The students and other stakeholders informed HRC that some students confronted the police officers at the campus gate after allegedly hearing a 19:00 hours news item to the effect that the Government had suspended payment of meal allowances to students. HRC calls on those charged with the responsibility of managing university affairs to be sensitive when commenting on students and/or lecturers grievances in order to contribute to maintaining peace and harmony instead of aggravating the usually already hostile situation. Out of the 23 arrested students, 21 were male while two (2) were female. All the students were detained at River Side Police Station and were released upon paying admission of guilty fees.

2. Doors to students’ rooms, especially Block E, were broken reportedly as Police Officers were gaining entry to apprehend students who were suspected to have gone to the gate to taunt and stone the officers. It is reasonably justifiable to believe that the doors were vandalised by the police officers as it would be illogical to even suspect that students could have destroyed doors to their own rooms. Students reported that as a result of the destroyed doors, they were sleeping in shifts to ensure that while others were sleeping, others were keeping vigil for security and safety reasons as their rooms were no longer secure.

3. HRC found records of 12 students who were treated for injuries, three (3) at Kitwe Central Hospital and nine (9) at the CBU Clinic. Others were reportedly treated at some surrounding clinics. One student was still being treated for burns on his private parts, allegedly caused by a teargas canister while the rest had been discharged. The HRC was also shown an Officer who was reportedly stoned on the left arm. He said he was fine and he was on duty. There was no record of a Police Officer who was treated at Kitwe Central Hospital as a result of the confrontation with the students.

4. Medical Officials, Police Officers, CBU Management, Student Union, Lecturers and Students all refuted the circulating rumour that a student or students died during the fracas with the Police. HRC confirmed that the student who was being shown as having died in a video circulating on social media had collapsed from his long-time known illness and was rushed in an ambulance to hospital. His illness was not related to the police action. The student in question was subsequently discharged and was back in campus. There was no confirmed report of sexual harassment as alleged on some social media platforms. The HRC calls social media uses to refrain from abusing the internet technology to cause fear and alarm as well as to violate the rights and reputations of others.

5. Some Police Officers crossed the line of enforcing the law and engaged in violation of human rights, which is a breach of their own mandate under Article 193 (e) of the Zambian Constitution. The practice of repeatedly physically assaulting a suspect who has already been apprehended and is clearly incapable of resisting or causing harm is clearly an act of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, which is a grave violation of human rights. The HRC is however encouraged by the positive attitude shown by the Copperbelt Police Command which acknowledged the fact that it was possible that the police could pick up innocent students from the room. The police leadership equally disapproved the conduct of breaking up of students’ rooms and brutalising students who were already under their custody. The Commission desires to see a real behavioural change among police officers in order to actualise the constitutional transformation from the Zambia Police Force to the people’s Zambia Police Service.

6. The Students Union Executive was dissolved and replaced by an interim one on allegations that it had failed to adequately manage students’ affairs. HRC calls upon the CBU and any other higher learning institution management to respect the rights of the students populous to elect representatives of their own choice. To this effect, it is hoped that elections for the CBU Students Union will be held as soon as possible and in a transparent, free and fair atmosphere. Suppressing students’ rights and freedoms is a recipe for students’ unrest and can never be a lasting solution.

7. During the said meeting of 15th December 2017 between the students and officials, there was a public pronouncement that a reward would soon be staked out for anyone who would lead to the identification of suspected ring leaders in students’ unrest. HRC strongly objects to that kind of approach as it may lead to witch-hunting and victimization of students. Such an action may further restrain the relationship between the government and the students.

HRC therefore calls for a more reconciliatory approach to resolving the issues affecting the students. Protests by students are historical and the reasons that cause them are almost always predictable and should therefore not result into witch-hunt. Instead, authorities should focus on finding durable solutions to mitigating the challenges facing the education sector, using a human rights-based approach to resolving the challenges and conflicts.

The Human Rights Commission is a National Human Rights Institution established under Article 230 of the Zambian Constitution to ensure that the Bill of Rights is upheld and promoted.

Mweelwa Muleya
Spokesperson