Public complaints against the police in the second quarter of this year rose by 48%, from 46 in the first three months of the same year to 68, the Police Public Complaints Commission (PPCC) has revealed.
Complaints were received from eight of the 10 provinces, with Lusaka leading the table with 51 complaints, representing 75% of the total.
PPCC chairman Zunga Siakalima stated that between April and June, the complaints received included unlawful arrests, over-detention, discreditable conduct, police inaction, and unprofessional conduct.
There were also reports against police brutality, abuse of authority, corruption or malpractice, negligence, and questionable release of suspects. Two cases of deaths in custody were also lodged.
Siakalima said sadly, the Commission recorded 10 cases of extrajudicial killings, the same number lodged between January and March, bringing the number of extrajudicial deaths so far this year to 20.
Similar to the general picture, Lusaka had the highest number of extrajudicial killings recorded – 9 – including the four people gunned down at the Inter-land PUMA filling station on June 30.
Siakalima said that after the public hearings over these matters, the Commission considered and referred several cases to the Zambia Police Service, the Drug Enforcement Commission, and the National Prosecutions Authority for further action.
“Our cornerstone as an oversight body remains the ability to operate and conduct investigations on police action without any interference.
Therefore, I wish to remind members of the public of their responsibility to report any action by the police, which is deemed unethical and against the law,” he said.
Siakalima said the Commission also encouraged members of the public to conduct themselves appropriately before the police, who are the enforcers of the law for a safe, secure, and peaceful Zambia
“In the same vein, police officers are called upon to conduct themselves professionally in their course of duty,” he said.
