Lusaka ~ Friday, 30 December 2022
By Brightwell Chabusha
To abolish a law that affects next to no-one and hold a massive celebration for doing that boggles the mind, Chishala Kateka adds her voice on the “removal” of the death penalty.
The New Heritage Party president asked how urgent it is to abolish the death penalty.
Ms Kateka claimed that the beneficiaries of the said abolition are very few.
She said this in a statement issued to Zambia Reports today.
“We ask. Because the beneficiaries of the abolition of the death penalty are very few, representing a negligible fraction of the population of Zambia. If anything, we have not had anyone sent to the gallows since 1997,” she said.
“Even if not fitting that definition, we view this as a form of ‘minority’ rights. To abolish a law that affects next to no-one and hold a massive celebration for doing that, boggles the mind. While all human rights may be important, we, at the New Heritage Party would have celebrated with those that attended that luncheon if the human rights that affect the majority of Zambians, like the right to health, were given this prominence.”
Meanwhile, the opposition leader said she would be more impressed if issues affecting the health sector among others are focused on as opposed to the matter in question.
“Many people are dying across the country due to lack of medicines, so we would be more impressed if this and other similarly urgent rights were focused on. Another example is the chaotic distribution of farming inputs that will negatively affect the rights of millions of Zambian’s access to affordable food,” he said.
“By the chaotic situations at the Ministries of Health and Agriculture, the UPND in Government are sentencing more people to de@th than the courts of law can ever put on de@th row!! In addition to the above, we are left questioning whether this another of those decisions and actions that are taken to satisfy the demands of the master’s voice.”
Kateka said the speed and finality with which the President has acted to abolish the death penalty should be the same speed he applies to economic, social, and cultural rights, which have more bearing on the majority people’s livelihoods.
Zambia Reports 2022