Probe CBU students’ assault, HRC urged
CHIKONDI Foundation has called on the Human Rights Commission to investigate the human rights violation where some students were alleged to have been battered by police at the Copperbelt University.
Chikondi Foundation president Bishop John Mambo said it was unacceptable for the police to have battered students for merely asking for their meal allowances through a demonstration, and that most of them were believed to have come from disadvantaged homes.
He said the action was “nauseating” in a democracy and a Christian nation to say the least, and has called on the Church to stand up and take a position on the continued violation of people’s rights by police.
Bishop Mambo appealed to the Human Rights Commission to stop taking a “watch and see” kind of approach on matters of human rights but be proactive and recommend stiff punishment to the abusers and violators of human rights.
“Chikondi Foundation is therefore calling on the government to re-look at its responsibility and respect of the current Constitution vis-à-vis human rights by law enforcement agencies,” he said.
And Bishop Mambo has asked for an amicable way of resolving such issues to avoid the violation of human rights, adding that Chikondi Foundation was also aware that many lecturers at institutions of higher learning had gone years without their gratuity.
The church’s silence on issue of national interest by police and other citizens in the country left much to be desired, contrary to the teaching of Christ.
He said his organisation would remain steadfast in condemning such acts being committed by the police against students and other citizens in the country.