…complains police officers, Stephen Simwenda, Brian Chipango and others ambushed him, brutally attacked him before violently bundling him onto a waiting vehicle
By NATION REPORTER
EMMANUEL Mwamba has lodged a complaint against the 12 Zambia Police officers including Stephen Simwenda and Brian Chipango to the Police Public Complaints Commission for brutality, assault and abduction.
And Mr Mwamba, Zambia’s former Ambassador to Ethiopia was yesterday at Woodlands Police making a criminal report about the police ambush and eventual abduction without cause. Mr Mwamba has complained that he had been brutally attacked by Mr Simwenda and Mr Chipango and other police officers at a car wash in Woodlands where he was ambushed before he was bundled onto a waiting motor vehicle and driven to Police Headquarters.
In a letter to the Police Public Complaints Commission and copied to the Director General, Human Rights Com
mission, Mr Mwamba narrated how he was trailed, ambushed and savagely tussled around before bundling him
on a Toyota Corolla.
He has complained that his arrest was premeditated and argeted at him and others based on the false perception
that as Patriotic Front (PF) member of the central commiteeand deputy chairperson of information and publicity,
the said pages were associated with him. Mr Mwamba explained that in the melee, three other people including a pregnant woman were picked and had their phones confiscated for filming the ugly scene of politic brutality.
He said he had been treated like a common criminal and was denied to access his lawyers and wife for which he
strongly believes was a violation of his human rights. “While I was having my car washed in Woodlands, about
12 men in three unmarked motor vehicles stormed a Car Wash based on Mosi-O-Tunya Road in Chilenje/Woodlands
area
They immediately approached me and demanded that I accompany them.” “I had no way of knowing
who these men were especially that they were not in police uniforms, and their cars were not marked as police cars.
Further, they had no or did not show any Identification cards as policemen. Although I recognized one officer as be
longing to the Criminal Investigations Department, the unit based at Police Service Headquarters, I could not tell if this was a police operation.” “I asked politely why they didn’t issue a Police Call-out, or phone me. I also request
ed if they could allow me to phone my wife and my lawyer. This request was met with brutal attacks as they were de
termined to extract me like an armed and dangerous criminal,” Mr Mwamba narrates in his letter.
Mr Mwamba stated that he has handcuffed without cause like a dangerous criminal and was later dumped at Emas
dale Police Station cells and that the police denied him access to his lawyers and his wife even after they had locat
ed him. “To clearly cover up the harm inflicted on me, the lead police officer of the operation manufactured assault charges against me, a fraudulent activity that also needs to be subjected to criminal investigations,” Mr Mwamba complained.
