CAN POLICE ARREST THEM INSIDE UN PREMISES? YES, HERE IS THE SIMPLE TRUTH

CAN POLICE ARREST THEM INSIDE UN PREMISES? YES, HERE IS THE SIMPLE TRUTH By Chadrin Nseemani The story is that Mundubile and Makebi have been summoned by police and they have run into UN premises. Many Zambians are now asking if police can arrest them from there. The law is very simple. UN offices in […]

CAN POLICE ARREST THEM INSIDE UN PREMISES? YES, HERE IS THE SIMPLE TRUTH

By Chadrin Nseemani

The story is that Mundubile and Makebi have been summoned by police and they have run into UN premises. Many Zambians are now asking if police can arrest them from there. The law is very simple.

UN offices in Zambia are protected by world law. Zambia agreed to that law a long time ago. That law says police cannot just break into UN offices anyhow. They have to ask for permission from the UN boss first. So police cannot just enter with force like they do in a normal house.

But here is the important part that many people don’t know. UN offices are not a hiding place. The UN does not allow people to run there to hide from police. If you are not a UN worker and you run there because police called you, the UN will not protect you. The UN will tell you to go out and go to the police. If you refuse, the UN itself will call government and allow police to come and get you.

Even if police don’t enter today, these people cannot live inside UN offices forever. They will have to come out to eat, to go home, to go to court. And the moment they step outside that UN gate, police will be waiting for them and will arrest them. So hiding inside UN does not cancel a police summon and it does not stop an arrest.

The best thing to do when you are summoned by police is to go and answer. Hiding inside UN only makes people think you are guilty and it makes your case even bigger.