NUMBER 26                                     APRIL, 2001

Uncle Exchanges Niece For K1m

By Madube Pasi Siyauya

A 13 year old girl was given to a creditor as security by her uncle until he paid back a K1 million loan.

Wakumelo Nasilele was given to Liunda of Kanyama compound in July last year by her uncle Boyd Nasilele to keep until he paid back the debt.

Nasilele has since run away leaving the girl in the hands of strangers who are mistreating her.

The girl said her mother was in Mongu but she did not know where her father was. She said she was staying with her aunt on the Copperbelt when her uncle came to get her so she could stay with him. She said they moved from the Copperbelt to Lusaka.

Her uncle then borrowed some money from Liunda and when he (Liunda) demanded for the money, Nasilele left Wakumelo with him and never showed up.

Well wishers Cliff Siyambango who saw Wakumelo’s suffering decided to give her a job in a makeshift store in Kanyama. His cousin Douglas Mwakoi was managing the store and with the money she earned, they bought her clothes and blankets, which she did not have.

This did not please Liunda who got some of her money and ordered her to stop work because he owned her and he would do anything he pleased with her.

Mwakoi reported this to LRF Kanyama Legal Advice Centre. The Following day, Liunda reported to Kanyama Police post that Mwakoi had abducted and abused Wakumelo. LRF Paralegal explained to Kanyama Police Post officer in charge what the case was about. She also wrote a letter to the Victim Support Unit at Lusaka Central Police were Liunda had reported the matter.

Some of Wakumelo’s relatives have come up to LRF to confirm the developments of her stay with Liunda.

Wakumelo was taken to Cheshire Home for safe keeping by the Social Welfare Department while waiting for arrangements to reunite her with her mother in Mongu.

Chief Fires Man Over Assault

By Madube Pasi Siyauya

SENIOR Chief Lukwesa recently fired a man for beating up his wife and her lover when he found them committing adultery.

Julius Mwansa told LRF News he was appealing to Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) to help him get his terminal benefits from the Mwense District Council, who were his employers.

He has also questioned the council for allowing Chief Lukwesa to fire him when they employed him.

He said in 1999 he caught his wife with Sylous Chimba committing adultery around 20:00 hours.

Mwansa said he beat both of them up and Chimba reported the matter to Mwense Police Station where Mwansa was summoned. He informed the chief about the developments and was given a day off to go to the police station.

The police advised the two to settle the matter with the chief because Mwansa acted under provocation.

Chimba decided to take the matter to court and on June 1, 1999, Mwansa appeared before the court.

He asked the court to adjourn the case because he was informed whilst at court that his daughter had died. The chief once more granted him permission to attend the funeral.

When he reported for work, the chief told him that he had terminated his services because he was absent from work for ten days.

Mwansa wrote a letter to Mwense Council deputy secretary Morries Mtonga who advised the chief he was not in a position to fire Mwansa because he was employed by the council.

Chief Lubunda tried to intervene in the matter by letting Mwansa exchange with his retainer so that Mwansa can work with Chief Lubunda to which Chief Lukwesa refused.

Chief Lukwesa told Mwansa he was disappointed that he beat Chimba.

Mwansa said he wrote a petition letter to Mwense District Council but the council decided to fire him. He said he was unlawfully dismissed and he should be given his benefits since it was not his wish to stop work.

But the Ministry of Local Government and Housing told him they could not give him his long service benefits because he had served for less than ten years. They said they could only give him leave days and repatriation money.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

By Madube Pasi Siyauya

Twenty-five remandees from Kamfinsa Prison in Kitwe have complained to Legal Resource Foundation (LRF) about the delay by Kitwe judge Rueben Mwape to deliver judgement in some of his cases since 1997.

The 25 told LRF interns Sandra Ndemanga, Grace Zulu and Mabvuto Sakala who visited the prison last month that Judge Mwape tried them in the Kitwe High Court between 1997 and 1999.

They said their cases were concluded but the judgements have not yet been delivered to date.

Sakala said the 25 have remained in prison because they were charged with aggravated robbery and murder, which are non-bailable offences.

The 25 appealed over a year ago to the Judge in Charge at Kitwe High Court who promised to talk to Judge Mwape but todate nothing has been done.

They also wrote to the chief justice Matthew Ngulube several times to which there has also been no reply.

One of the remandees Godffery Musonda died last year while awaiting judgement.

When contacted for a comment Judge Mwape said: "I am aware of that. It is a long story."

The judge explained that in 1997 judge Chitundu died and Judge Peter Chitengi was transferred to Lusaka. He said he had many cases at the time such that he had to sit eight sessions with about 20 cases a day.

He said he has, however, started working on them and has delivered four judgements this month.

"There will not be any miscarriage of judgement because the sentences will be backdated," he said.

Sakala said judges enjoy immunity when performing their duties they can not be sued or ordered by any court to deliver judgement.

However Article 18 of the Zambian Constitution guaranties protection of the law which includes a criminal or suspect being given a fair trial within reasonable time.

"Waiting for judgement for three years is by any standard very unreasonable. Even if they enjoy immunity the chief justice should act in cases like this to compel the judge to deliver judgement," he said.

Those accused of aggravated robbery were Peshani Phiri 1998, Richard Njovu 1998, Adam Tembo 1997, Proof Simupuka 1997, Lubinda Likezo 1998, Mulenga Sichone 1998, Sefelino Chilufya 1998, Kennedy Mwaba1998, Joseph Banda 1998, Mwansa Mwila 1997, Boniface Bwalya 1997, Moses Zama 1998, Dulan Moyo 1998 Mwansa Mwila 1998, Francis Kapambwe 1998 and Kapalus Sumaless 1999,

Those for murder are Roy Malekana 1999, Kennedy Kamuza 1998, Lawrence Nkomesha 1998, Simon Kunda 1998, Vincent Chikusa 1998, Sichone Moyo 1998, Ben Kulinwa 1997, Martin Kapesha 1998 and Brian Musamba 1999.

Livingstone LRF To Work With Police

By Madube Pasi Siyauya

The Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) in Livingstone has retaliated the need to co-operate with the police in their operations.

This was disclosed at a meeting held at the Division Headquarters in Livingstone in March.

They agreed they both have a task of ensuring that justice is done and promote a sound human rights culture.

Zambia Police (ZP) Southern province deputy commanding officer Chewe Bowa said there is need for LRF to organise seminars for police officers in a bid to sensitise them on issues of human rights.

"I wish to state that in most cases police officers make mistakes because they do not understand human rights well," he said.

LRF Lawyer Cheelo Kachesa said there is need to be exchanging ideas on how to be settling matters excuria (out of court).

Those who attended the meeting were LRF paralegal Victor Chilufya, ZP Third In command senior superintendent Gabriel Banda and Livingstone Central Police Officer in Charge Chola Katongo.

In the past, Livingstone LRF staff have been in confrontation with police who accuse LRF of interfering in their work

In August last year, when Livingstone LRF legal assistant, Charles Mwila, went to serve a Writ of Summons on two police officers from Libuyu Police Station who tortured a suspect, he was rebuffed.

The Officer- in-Charge, a Mr. Mwamba, complained the foundation had taken away their powers. He refused to acknowledge receipt of the Writ of Summons and sent Mwila away.

Some police officers at the station complained the foundation was assisting criminals and lawbreakers thereby making their work very difficult. They claimed they could not operate the way they used to because of the presence of the LRF in Livingstone.

DEC Officers Advised To Operate Professionally

By Perpetual Sichikwenkwe.

A retired army officer has asked the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) investigation officers [DEC] to abide by their ethics when investigating matters and not take the law into their own hands.

Saul Chola, of C 354 Mtendere compound, was referring to a case in which DEC went to search his house with neither a search permit nor his concert.

The facts of the matter are that on March 8, 2001, between 08:00-9:00hrs, his wife, Fridah Chileshe Chola, was busy with her household chores when she saw a blue vehicle approaching their house.

She then saw two armed police officers and five others approach her. They told her they were from DEC and had come to search their house for harbouring dagga.

Fridah told them they had come to a wrong house because they had no dagga but they told her not to waste their time.

Without showing her a search warrant, the five, in civil dress, led by Investigation Officer, M. Nguni entered the house and started searching while the armed police men went around the yard and toilet in search of dagga.

According to Fridah, the DEC officers searched all corners of the house turning down every single item including the couple’s underpants.

A woman who was among the delegation searched Chola’s wife by touching her all over the body.

While searching in the couple’s bedroom, they saw a trunk on top of the wardrobe which attracted their attention. They opened it and found a gun he inherited from his late brother and army uniforms, which Chola kept as a legacy from his former job.

The officers demanded for the gun’s licence but Fridah could not give them as it was with her husband. They told her to sign on a paper to show they had taken the gun and uniforms saying it was not in order to keep such things in the house.

When Chola came back from work, the wife narrated the ordeal to him and he decided to report the matter to the police station. The police advised him to follow up the matter with DEC.

When Chola went to seek an audience with DEC officers, they could not produce the search warrant but told him to give them the gun licence.

Chola gave them the licence and he was given back his gun but not the uniform. DEC officers told Chola his case was closed. It was at this point that Chola thought to get help from LRF.

LRF Mtendere Advice Centre paralegal Johnston Kalebaila wrote to DEC asking them to explain why they conducted themselves in such a manner but there has been no response.

Kalebaila said what they did was invasion of privacy which infringes their Constitutional right to privacy.

Suspects Forced to Sign Warn and Caution Statements

By Delphine Hampande

A number of suspects have complained that police officers are forcing them to sign warn and caution statements without them understanding what it meant.

Suspects spoken to said most of them realise they were forced after the case was in court and the magistrate asks them whether they were forced to sign or not.

Brian Phiri of Kafue’s Zambia Compound said some police officers from Kafue Police Station were among those that force suspects to sign warn and caution statements because they take advantage of their suspect’s ignorance on this issue.

He said in most cases, suspects sign out of fear of police torture and the kind of expression they show when issuing the statement.

Another suspect, Rose Zimba from Chaisa compound said police officers at Emmasdale Police Station forced her to sign the statement because her husband had bribed the officers not to question him after he was caught red handed committing adultery with somebody’s wife.

But police spokesperson Lemmy Kajoba said the warn and caution statement was a voluntary act which needed to be signed without any force from police officers.

He said the warn and caution was a statement showing that a suspect had either accepted or denied the crime committed and that whatever was written was correct.

Kajoba denied police officers force suspects to sign the statement as it was done in the presence of witnesses.

A magistrate interviewed said they have received a number of cases were suspects have been forced to sign warn and caution statements.

Legal Resources Foundation Lawyer Geoffrey Mulenga said it was wrong for any police officer to force suspects to sign the warn and caution statements as it states whether the suspect understood and accepted or denied the crime committed in order to proceed with court proceedings.

He said by forcing them, they (police) are hindering the suspects’ right to expression.

Magistrate’s Strike Worsens Prison Conditions

By Perpetual Sichikwenkwe.

The Magistrates and Local Court justices strike has worsened congestion in prisons in the country.

According to statistics given to LRF News by Zambia Prisons Service Deputy Commissioner for Administration, the number of inmates in Lusaka alone rose significantly from 500 to 1,000 prisoners since February.

Commissioner Mubyana Sifuwe said in Luapula Province the inmates, before the strike, were 470 while during the strike they went up to 644. He said in Southern Province, the number rose to 579 from 518. Northern province had, before the strike, 983 but it rose to 1,038. On the Copperbelt, it rose to 2,702 from 2,521.

Sifuwe also said the remandee population at Ndola Remand Prison rose from 200 to 386.

He said in order to decongest the prisons, the service is continuously transferring convicts from congested prisons to less populated ones. The Commissioner said Open Air Prisons had also been established to try to ease the congestion where possible.

Commenting on the Cholera outbreak at Livingstone Prison, Sifuwe said the situation has been contained adding several drugs and other necessities had been dispatched.

The Magistrates and Local Court justices went on a countrywide strike on February 9, 2001 demanding improved working conditions. They have since partially called off their strike handling one case per-day.

Meanwhile, the process of reviewing the Prisons Act Cap 47 has begun. Sifuwe told LRF News, the draft amendments had been submitted to appropriate authorities for consideration.

The Reviewing of the Prisons Act is aimed at changing some of the rules, which were set under the colonial era, for the betterment of prisons countrywide.

Annoyed Wife

By Delphine Hampande

CASES of threatening violence and harassment are on the increase, Kaunda Square Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) Legal Advice Centre paralegal Androphina Bubala said last month.

Bubala was referring to a case in which a Kaunda Square widow Ms Nalwimba of house number 30 / 02 went to seek legal advice from her over a Ms Mulinde who had been issuing threats and harassing her after she discovered her daughter Ellinah Nalwimba had an affair with her husband, John Mulinde.

Bubala told the LRF News threatening violence and harassment were serious offences which could land a person behind bars and should be avoided.

Nalwimba said Mulinde, who has been married for 12 years, had on four occasions thrown petrol bombs at Ellinah’s house. This, and continued threats and harassment, has forced Ellinah to flee the house.

She explained that Mulinde fights with anyone she finds at Ellinah’s house, breaks windows, doors and even tears or burns any cloths she finds on the line.

Nalwimba said at one time after breaking the windows around 22:00 hours, Mulinde threw a big metal and poisonous acid with intentions of killing Ellinah, but fortunately Ellinah was not in the house, so the metal landed on her young sister’s bed and broke her leg.

It was at this point that Ellinah’s mother decided to seek legal advice from LRF.

Nalwimba condemned police’s slow action from the time she started reporting the matters to two police stations, Kaunda Square and Chelstone.

Bubala spoke to the two station’s police officers-in-charge who warned Mulinde seriously and informed her that men can marry as many women as possible unlike women.

They advised her to find better ways of solving her marital problems than involving innocent people before granting her bail after she was detained at Chestone police station for four days.

John Mulinde, in an interview, said he would marry Ellinah since he had always wanted to be a polygamous man.

Bubala said although Mulinde was doing all these things to protect her marriage, she was not right to harass innocent people just because they are staying in the same house with her rival.

WLSA Studies Justice Delivery System

By Perpetual Sichikwenkwe.

We are currently studying the justice delivery system in the country so that we can advice government on how it can seriously look into the matter of gender violation, Women and Law in Southern Africa [WLSA] have said.

WLSA national co-ordinator, Matrine Bbuku Chuulu, told LRF News her organisation had also embarked on a massive sensitisation campaign to teach women on how best they can handle the crime of rape.

Chuulu said the only way to reduce rape is to sentence all rapists to life imprisonment so that others can learn from them.

She said in this era of HIV/AIDS rape should not be considered a mere crime but an infringement to life.

Chuulu said the rise in rape and defilement cases was a result of the weak judicial system in the country.

She said different classes of magistrates in courts had also contributed to the weakening of the judicially because different classes of magistrates handle cases in different ways. Chuulu advised women to be reporting any matter of violence regardless of who was involved.

She said women were not to blame in any case because rape was a crime of power.

Chuulu said her organisation was concerned at the increasing rate of rape, which mostly affects girls between 2 to 12 years old.

She said parents should be free to talk about rape and its dangers to their young girls as a way of alerting them.

She said magistrates who are calling for better conditions of service should not use this as an excuse of passing mediocre judgement to serious cases like rape.

"Poverty in Zambia is striking everyone and magistrates can not accept bribes at the expense of a helpless woman’life," Chuulu said.

She added passing judgement without looking at the consequences of the crime is miscarriage of justice that should not be tolerated by government.

Chuulu urged all legal entities to work in unity with government saying this will help to uphold justice and peace in the judicial system.

The Permanent Human Rights Commission (PHRC) said courts should, when passing Tosentence, seriously take into consideration the health status of the rapists.

PHRC spokesman Lavu Mulimba said society should not condone violence against women in any form adding rape itself is an act of violence which violates the right of a victim, as the rapist resorts to violent behaviour without the consent of the victim.

Mulimba said passing simple imprisonment on rapists is not only degrading to the victim, but a mockery of justice.

He said present laws concerning rape must be reviewed and consider the introduction of new offences related to rape.

Mulimba said the new offences must include, infecting a woman with an STD, murder/manslaughter, like is the case in some countries, where a rapists is aware that he has an infectious disease, but goes ahead to rape an innocent person and introducing of a mandatory minimum sentence for raping a girl below the age of consent.

Man Recovers Overdue Debt

By Justin Hakasenke

A CHAWAMA resident has recovered K29, 000 owed to him for almost one year with the help of the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) Chawama centre.

Justin Zambo of old Chawama approached the centre for advice after Sivo Musonda’s delay in paying him money he worked for about mid-last year.

Facts are that Musonda is a scrap metal dealer. He contracted Zambo to pack the metal in a truck and an agreement that Zambo would be paid after working was reached.

But despite the agreement, Musonda kept on avoiding Zambo after the work was finished and this prompted him to approach the Legal Resources Foundation Chawama centre.

The centre’s paralegal Enerst Mukelabai told Musonda he would pay more than K29, 000 if the matter was to go to court and that prompted Musonda to find the cash.

Mukelabai advised Musonda it was unlawful for him to continue keeping his colleague’s money.

It took Musonda less than two weeks to find the money he had been claiming to be looking for from last year.

Mukelabai said the money was paid in two instalments of K15, 000 and K14, 000.

Worker fired For Having TB

By Delphine Hampande

A worker at Lusaka’s Orphan Village was recently fired for allegedly having Tubercluosis(TB).

Chibwe Chishimba explained that in late January, he got sick while on duty together with the director’s cat, which is kept within the organisation.

In a normal circumstance, teh director Peter Blonde was supposed to rush Chishimba to any nearest clinic, pay for his medical fees and continue to visit him while in hospital.

But to the worker’s surprise, Blonde allegedly preferred to rush his cat for treatment at a veterinary clinic and paid a lot of money for it while Chishimba was just dumped at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) after his fellow worker’s protested.

Chishimba said Blonde did not even pay for his medical fees.

According to a medical report, Chishimba was found with Tuberculosis (TB) of the Lungs.

Hospital management decided to put him on TB drugs for two months. This automatically meant that Chishimba be put on two months sick leave in order for him to finish his treatment as he would have infected others.

But upon receiving the report, Blonde immediately fired Chishimba saying he could not afford to give any of his workers sick leave for two months because it was too long.

Chishimba said he could not understand why his director was behaving in that manner because no one applied to get sick.

Permanent Human Rights (PHRC) Commissioner John Sakulanda, who is handling the matter, complained a lot of employers had a tendency of abusing their workers by not abiding by the Labour laws.

He said it was wrong for the director to respect the cat’s health more than that of his worker because a human being was more important than a cat.

"You can buy a cat if it dies, but can you buy life once lost? It is very inhuman to behave as if you are not a human being who will one day fall sick unexpectedly like Chishimba.

"People must learn to put themselves in other people’s boots," the commissioner said.

He added that when Chishimba was sick, his employer was supposed to pay for him at the hospital or give him his medical allowance and the two months sick leave because he was entitled to it.

Sakulanda has, however, advised civic leaders to intensify their human rights education especially in areas of employee’s rights as a lot of people’s rights were being tramped on by their employers.

Mululu Asked About A Debt

By Justin Hakasenke

WORKS and Supply deputy minister Gilbert Mululu has been asked to explain why two people he contracted to paint his house three years ago had not yet been paid.

The Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) Chawama Advice Centre paralegal Enerst Mukelabai, who asked for the minister’s explanation through a letter, said he was given 14 days in which to respond to the letter failure to which the matter would be taken to court.

Facts of matter are that Kennedy Kafweta of house number 29\6 new Chawama and another were contracted by the minister onDecember 24, 1999.

They were to be paid K6.5 million upon completing the work which they did on February 16, 2000. Unfortunately only K2.5 million was given to them.

Kafweta said every time they go to ask for their money, they are chased.

He said he was afraid of the minister and this prompted him to go to Chawama office to seek legal assistance.

Mukelabai advised him on the law of contracts, which deals with business arrangements.

"When they ask for the remaining balance he chases them, they are scared since he is a minister so they came to the office to seek legal assistance and I have advised them on the law of contracts," he said.

ZNBC Personality In Maintenance Wrangle

By Perpetual Sichikwenkwe

A woman who appealed to the Chilenje Legal Resource Foundation (LRF) advice centre for help to make the father of his two children to start supporting them has been advised to sue him for maintenance and affiliation.

The advice centre’s paralegal Mulungu Sianga told Fridah Lutele Daka of New Chilenje house No.1220 to sue the father of her children in the subordinate court where the court will attach the order of maintenance and affiliation to his earnings.

Daka went to seek advice over Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC)’s staffer Brian Kakoma who had not heeded the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) and police orders to support his 11 and 9 year-old children.

Daka said her two children could not go to school because she has no money and no support from their father who is a T.V. personality but has no feelings for his offspring.

She said every time Kakoma is on the screen his two children tell their mother that it was a shame they were not in school because of their father’s negligence despite his good looks on the screen.

According to Daka, Kakoma had proposed love to her some years back with marriage promises. The marriage, however, did not materialise as it was discovered that Kakoma had another wife.

Kakoma’s elder brother, Ben, went to tell Daka’s parents that Kakoma would still marry her because the family members did not like his wife for she was older than Brian.

By that time, the promise had started losing credibility because Daka already had two children with Kakoma. He then stopped giving support to Daka and the children.

Daka took Kakoma to Woodlands Police Station where they ordered him to start supporting his children. Kakoma did not heed the order.

Daka reported him to Woodlands Police Station again and he was detained. Kakoma reported Daka to YWCA and said he wanted to get his children so that they can start staying with him.

Daka let the children go with him but it was not long before they were sent away by their stepmother at every mealtime to Daka’s place. Daka got the children, as it was not making any difference to her.

Kakoma’s wife started insulting Daka accusing her of disturbing her marriage. It was at this point that Daka decided to seek help from LRF.

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