In his continued reflection of the
country’s independence anniversary Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda, who is
Heritegy Party president, called for the removal of treason offence from the
statutes.
Brig. Gen. Miyanda further asked
President Michael Sata to release the Barotse activists.
“Let him release the Barotse activists
forthwithand ‘deport’TREASON back to England where it is hardly heard of
today!,” stated Brig. Gen. Miyanda.
Bellow is Brig. Gen. Miyanda’s
reflection in full.
[By Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda
– 22nd October 2013]
As Icontinue to reflect on the 49thIndependence
Day, I notice the prevalence of the “unity of the camera”, a mirage that
disappears as soon as you step away from the “enemy” you were shaking hands
with! I also realise that there are many “independences” around: independence
of the mind, of judges, of wives, of your children, of the youth, of NGOs, of
religion, of ethnic groups, etc,etc. Thus we may severally have been
experiencing fleeting mirages of unity but now we mustall make an effort to
focus on which “independence”is relevant on this occasion of the 49th
Independence Day.
On this second reflection I focus on
contentious issues that have to do with citizens’ rights and freedoms as
enshrined in the current Republican Constitution that continue to be abrogated
and generally ignored. The PF record is abysmal with regard to the Rule of
Law.There has been harassment and tampering with the rights of citizens,
especially those that have to do with freedom of assembly, free speech as well
as the independence of the judiciary. Such abuse by those in authority is
what must become treason today!
The law of treason in its present
formhas maintained its colonial character and purpose and is archaic,
contradictoryand irrelevant.Therefore it is not reasonably justifiable in our
democratic dispensation. Essentially it was designed to preventcitizens from
expressing their strong sentiments against the ruling regime. Such a law is
anathema to citizens and is a hindrance to the on-going independence journey
and subtracts from the quest for unity.
Look at how ridiculous and
contradictory this law is today. Before our independence battles, while this
law was in full force under the Colonial Power, our Founding Fathers ignored
it, actively denounced and challenged the colonial regime and succeeded. Simply
put, they committed treason against Her Majesty the Queen! In short we gained
our Independence by committing treason – without that action prior to 1964,
there would not have been the 49th Independence Day to commemorate!
But after assuming power they maintained the very laws that were designed to
derail and to stall the independence march of the late 50s and onwards!
Wind forward to 1972 - Dr Kaunda’s
regime decreed the establishment of Zambia as a One Party State. Under that
decree it was an offence to form or belong to a political party other than
UNIP; it was an offence to hold an opinion that contradicted that of the Ruling
Party. I classify the imposition of the One Party State as a treasonable act;
but its removal from our statute books was the most important and heroic
achievement of the MMD. What is happening in our country today, under the PF
which is mentored by former President Dr Kaunda,is sending worrying signals
about possible re-introduction of that era. The spectre of Hitler or Idi Amin is
hovering over the horizon. Dr Kaunda, the architect of the One Party State,
appears to be co-President or the lead Consultant for President Sata; so we
have a reason to be apprehensive. We do not want to go back to detentions
without trial.
To put this apprehension in
perspective I refer to some parts of the Zambian Penal Code that deal with
sedition.The definition of ‘seditious intention’ is so wide that any form of
political sensitisation and even election campaigns qualify to be classified as
sedition. There are phrases such as “to bring into hatred or contempt or to
excite disaffection against the Government; to raise discontent or disaffection
among the people of Zambia; to incite resistance, either active or passive, or
disobedience to any law or the administration thereof” (as CSOs are presently
doing with regard to the Constitution-making process). Workers are not spared
as under Section 92 the President may invoke statutory powersagainst a union
and designate a boycott if he so judges by specifying any action he deems fit
to control the situation. These sections in their full effect contradict the
spirit and letter of the current Republican Constitution.
I therefore urge the people of Zambia
to prevail on the PF Government to expunge from our statute books the treason
offence and all related derivatives of treason such as sedition. Instead what
must be treasonable is to get onto office by telling lies and fostering
deception as this is a way of preventing voters from ushering in a government
of their choice!
It cannot be treasonable to complain
against or criticise the Government. Those who get into public office by
telling lies inorder to win an election and who, once they get into power,
abuse the laws that they have sworn to defend and protect ought to be the ones
charged withtreason. Even when citizens, in their anger, shout and “insult” as
they march and demonstrate there are other laws that can properly deal with
such conduct.
Our Founding Fathers did more than let
out empty invective: they destroyed bridges, schools and telecommunications
facilities; they burnt government institutions; they cut off designated areas
to prevent Government forces from accessing the areas by blocking them with
logs and rocks; they even undressed in public (pornography) to emphasise their
helplessness and disapproval of the presence of a detested foreign power. What
could be more treasonable than that? But the joke is that that treason ushered
in our independence. If it is true, as declared by Dr Kaunda last week, that
President Sata was a Freedom Fighter, then he must surely be aware of these
activities which led to our independence. Let him release the Barotse activists
forthwithand ‘deport’TREASON back to England where it is hardly heard of today!
No comments:
Post a Comment