RIZWANI PATEL: WHY POLICE INERTIA?

IT is ironic that the Zambia Police have continued to defy Presidential directives in the manner that they treat suspects or any one arrested for transgressing the law.

Like most Zambians, we would have thought that after President Hakainde Hichilema’s strong statement on how he expects the police to operate in relation to speedy justice, there would be some movement on the ground in relation to incarcerated citizens without charge being taken to court.

And one of the cases that has captured the attention of the nation is that involving a Patriotic Front official in Petauke Rizwani Patel and two others who have been in custody for almost two months without being charged.

Mr Patel’s sad case highlights the failure of the country’s legal system to ensure that suspects when arrested should not be held for prolonged periods in cells without being taken to court or even given police bond.

It is unfortunate that those who have suffered most are people perceived to belong to opposition parties, particularly the former ruling Patriotic Front.

Their plight has not been helped when the Inspector General of Police, Mr Graphael Musamba is on record of describing opposition parties as being made up of “junkies.”

As New Congress Party president Peter Chanda has said, now that President Hichilema has directed that police must take suspects facing criminal charges to court on time, it is only expected that Rizwani Patel and two others must be taken court in the fairness of justice so that they could be heard.

Mr Chanda said it is unacceptable that police could continue holding Mr Patel and others in cells for two months without appearing in court on an aggravated robbery charge on a matter that was purely a case of common assault.

Mr Chanda questioned the behaviour by the police to continued defying President Hichilema’s directive to release suspects who were in incarceration on unbailable charges but were not being taken to court to get justice.

He said the police and other law enforcement agencies were being truant for ignoring Presidential directives and that their attitude was undermining President Hichilema.

Yes, how else could one interpret their failure to take the Petauke trio to court despite the President’s explicit stand on dispensing justice?

President Hichilema while addressing Parliament recently for the up tenth time directed the law enforcement agencies to leave people alone if they have no evidence of them engaging in criminality instead of arresting them and begin investigations.

Mr Hichilema said he is against the behaviour by the law enforcement agencies arresting individuals without carrying out thorough investigations.

“No one should be arrested before the matter is investigated, if you have no evidence leave them alone. This is what I have been telling the high command. And when you arrest someone at 10:00 hours if the matter is bondable give them the bond, if it’s not bondable take them to court by 14:00 hours and prosecute quickly,” President Hichilema said.

It is unfortunate that the Zambia Police chiefs are detached from reality, that they do not realise that the Rizwani Patel case speaks volumes and has serious political implications on how the new dawn administration administers justice.

Mr Musamba must realise that it cannot be business as usual. He cannot afford to remain smugly in his office and ignore a Presidential directive.

The nation expects some movement in the Razwini Patel case, if only to restore the waning confidence in the justice system.