LUSAKA, Nov 4 (NNN-XINHUA) — Zambian Vice President Mutale Nalumango refuted reports that there were rising human rights abuses in the country being perpetrated by the governing party.
The vice president said she was surprised to find that some people were complaining about human rights abuses when the citizens were enjoying freedom of association, speech and movement, among other rights.
“I am not aware of any abuses. I don’t know which human rights abuses they are talking about because people are still enjoying their constitutional rights, such as freedom of association, freedom of speech and freedom of movement,” she said during a parliamentary session.
However, she said that people who felt their rights were being violated should report to relevant institutions, noting that the government was committed to upholding the rights of every citizen.
Last week, a consortium of civil society organizations complained that the civic space was shrinking in Zambia and accused public institutions of failing to protect the rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, among others. The organizations voiced their concerns that the country’s democracy was under threat. — NNN-XINHUA