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Law Association of Zambia president, Arnold Kaluba, has warned the government against using national security to justify actions that violate constitutional rights, saying the circumstances surrounding the death of former Lunte MP, Mutotwe Kafwaya, must be independently established.
Kaluba said there were inconsistencies between information that had emerged about Kafwaya’s death and earlier public statements by senior government officials, making it necessary for the circumstances surrounding the shooting to be established through an independent, transparent and credible investigation.
He said on Thursday that the inquiry should, among other things, establish the circumstances that led to the shooting and whether the use of lethal force was lawful.
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“Whether the force used in this particular instance was lawful is a matter that must be objectively established on the evidence and through the appropriate legal processes,” Kaluba said.
He acknowledged the state’s responsibility to preserve peace, maintain law and order, prevent crime and protect national security, but stressed that such powers must be exercised within the law.
“National security is not a licence to disregard the Constitution,” Kaluba said, adding that the exercise of state power must remain subject to the law.
He also expressed concern over reports of arrests and prolonged detention of people in connection with the events surrounding Kafwaya’s death.
Kaluba called on law enforcement and security agencies to ensure that detained people had prompt access to legal representation and are brought before a competent court within the period prescribed by law.
He further urged authorities to ensure that no detained person was subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Kaluba called on the government and relevant state agencies to cooperate fully with the Human Rights Commission in exercising its constitutional mandate and allow other oversight and investigative institutions to carry out their lawful functions without interference.
He also called on state agencies involved in the security operation to account for all people who may have been arrested, injured or taken into custody and disclose their whereabouts.
Kaluba said LAZ would continue monitoring developments and would exercise its statutory and constitutional mandate where fundamental rights, the rule of law and the administration of justice were at stake.
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