Laura Miti blames police for failure to curb political violence

Laura Miti blames police for failure to curb political violence Human rights activist Laura Miti has accused the Zambia Police Service of failing to decisively tackle political violence, arguing that law enforcement has the capacity to stop the vice but lacks the will to act against ruling party supporters. Lusaka, 5 August – In a […]

Laura Miti blames police for failure to curb political violence

Human rights activist Laura Miti has accused the Zambia Police Service of failing to decisively tackle political violence, arguing that law enforcement has the capacity to stop the vice but lacks the will to act against ruling party supporters.

Lusaka, 5 August – In a Facebook post published on Wednesday, August 5, Miti said the continued incidents of political violence were not due to the inability of the police to maintain order but rather their reluctance to take firm action against those aligned with the ruling party.

“I am convinced that a police service that is known to be excellent at preventing those they don’t want to gather from gathering, can very easily prevent and address political thuggery and violence,” she wrote.

Miti argued that political violence would significantly reduce if police officers enforced the law impartially, regardless of political affiliation.

“My view is that the reason we still have the violence we are seeing is because the police do not stamp down on ruling party anarchy,” she said.

She further alleged that all forms of political violence would come to an end if police officers did not fear repercussions for arresting individuals “dressed up in the colour of the day,” a phrase she used to refer to supporters of the governing party.

According to Miti, opposition supporters would have little incentive to engage in violence if ruling party cadres were equally held accountable for similar conduct.

She also questioned public assurances that police would arrest and prosecute violent ruling party supporters, saying such commitments required stronger backing from the country’s leadership.

Miti suggested that only a direct and unequivocal instruction from President Hakainde Hichilema to the Inspector General of Police would bring an immediate end to politically motivated violence.

“I can swear that, if today President Hichilema picked up the phone and, in his baritone, said to the Police IG, ‘If I hear of one more incident of violence, don’t bother to come to work tomorrow,’ that would be it,” she wrote.

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