THE confrontation between police and NRPUP supporters in Kalingalinga raises an important question: why did officers interfere with a peaceful opposition roadshow during campaign time? From what we saw, the procession was moving peacefully until police attempted to stop it. That intervention created the tension. The firing of tear smoke was unnecessary, dangerous and out of proportion.
In a densely populated compound such as Kalingalinga, discharging tear gas endangers children, traders, motorists and innocent passers-by. The injury suffered by a young girl illustrates that danger. She was not a political combatant, but a child caught in a confrontation caused by police action. This is why restraint is demanded from law enforcement officers during elections. One reckless decision can turn a peaceful procession into panic, stampedes, retaliatory violence or death.
We also disagree with the government’s argument that the NRPUP did not notify the police that it would conduct a roadshow through Kalingalinga and Mtendere. This is campaign time. If the Electoral Commission of Zambia schedule allowed the NRPUP to campaign in Lusaka that day, the party should have been permitted freedom of movement within the binderies of Lusaka. Political campaigns are not military operations where every vehicle, turn and stop must be treated as a security breach. Roadshows and interactions with voters are part of campaigning. If the UPND is doing it, the opposition must be allowed to do it too.
The purpose of notifying police should be to facilitate security, traffic management and peaceful political activity, not to provide an excuse to suppress campaigns over technical deviations. Most importantly, tear gas should only be used on violent crowds that truly pose a danger to public property.
Police must appreciate the political atmosphere in which they are operating. Any unnecessary confrontation with an opposition candidate will be interpreted as political intimidation. Even where officers have legitimate concerns, their conduct must not create the impression that the State is using force to frustrate the opposition.
We are, nonetheless, encouraged that police eventually retreated and allowed the NRPUP procession to continue. That was the correct decision and demonstrated judgment. A professional police service must know when to step back. Policing is not about winning every confrontation with citizens. Sometimes the wiser course is to de-escalate.
This restraint is important because Zambia has experienced partisan and heavy-handed policing before. Under the Patriotic Front, opposition gatherings were routinely blocked, leaders were tear-gassed and supporters were shot at. Officers often behaved as though their duty was to protect the ruling party from competition. The current police command must not repeat that history. That promise of democratic policing will be judged by how opposition parties are treated on the ground.
At the same time, Mr Brian Mundubile must avoid exaggerating what happened. His suggestion that police intended to shoot him, his running mate Makebi Zulu or Mr Chifumu Banda is not supported by the facts available. A tear gas canister was discharged and a child was injured. That is serious and deserves investigation. But it does not prove an assassination attempt. Political leaders must resist the temptation to dramatise every confrontation for electoral advantage.
People who have not fought political battles will think one teargas canister is a death threat. People who have fought serious political battles know that when police are instructed to shoot, the consequences are unmistakable. Zambia has seen what armed officers are capable of doing when lethal force is used. What happened in Kalingalinga was unacceptable police interference and dangerous crowd control, but it should not be converted into a claim that officers had been sent to kill Mr Mundubile.
Such exaggeration weakens legitimate criticism. The opposition has a strong case when it questions why police interfered with a peaceful roadshow and why tear gas was used in a crowded residential area. It does not need unsupported allegations of attempted murder.
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