JOINT STATEMENT BY 24 LOCAL AND REGIONAL AFRICAN CSOs ON THE RECENT APPREHENSION OF ZAMBIAN EMMANUEL JAY BANDA IN MOZAMBIQUE
As now Governor of the US State of Maryland once said, our worst decisions should not separate us from the circle of humanity. Allegedly committing a crime or even actually committing a crime does not mean that that individual should be deprived of all their human rights, due process, and the security of the law.
We call on the Zambian and Mozambican Governments to explain the circumstances in which Zambian opposition politician Emmanuel Jay Banda was apprehended in Mozambique and returned to Zambia.
If indeed there was a lack of due process and that Mr. Banda was not given the ability to challenge the process in a court of law, serious questions must be asked of the Zambian and Mozambican Governments.
You cannot condemn criminality on the one hand and refuse to respect the law in purporting to enforce it on the other hand. There is a worrying trend in the African region of African Governments executing cross-border apprehensions of dissidents without following the due process law.
The most notable and recent incident of this was the abduction of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Bessigye in Kenya. This is a scourge that must not be allowed to spread and become entrenched across the Continent. This needs to stop.
