Oh, so they rioted!

The fact is, I am not one that keeps quite when the rights of another are tramped on. I am a firm believer in human rights, and civil liberties. I believe the freer we are as individuals to exercise our individuality the better we become as communities.

Top of the list of civil liberties is the right to free speech and association and all such things as rights to assembly –including right to protest. However, the months September, October and November in my view witnessed some of the most illogical protests in Zambia.

Agreed, everyone has the right to choose their own path and make decisions as they please, however, some of the reasons advanced for protesting left me wondering and asking if this had been a misuse of freedom. I mean, how would you explain students rioting because they heard that a secretary general of a political party had been dismissed? How would you explain school pupils rioting because the examination papers given to them had different questions from the ones which had been leaked to them illegally?

Well that was the absurdity of some of the protests we have witnessed recently. I appreciate it is everyone’s democratic right to protest so as to let the world know that they do or do not support a particular cause or whatever reason they have for protesting. However the protest must be legal because even in respecting the protestors’ right to demonstrate, they also have to respect the rights of the others who do not agree with them. This means respecting the rules of the state as well without turning into dissenters.

University Students at the popular monk square

The University Students

In saying all this, I am not in any way suggesting that students for instance cannot voice out their opinions on issues that do not concern them ‘directly’ such as politics or any other topics even outside of the country. It is the right of students to voice out concerns on anything. In fact, I expected the students’ bodies to have voiced out concerns on the killing of young black men by police in the United States of America. In the same vein, I expected the student bodies to share with the Zambian populace their opinion on the circus that has characterized the Zambian political scene since the death of President Michael Sata. By sharing their opinion, I mean just that – giving a statement and nothing more.

However, rioting because of a political party news story that is trending online is a big NO. What am I talking of here? President Michael Sata had just died on 28^th October and acting president Guy Scott gave a directive to all Patriotic Front party members that there would be a ban on meetings during the period of the national mourning in order to show dignity to the departed head of state. What followed was that a few days later, Dr Scott announced that he was revoking the appointment of then PF secretary General, Edgar Lungu for having disobeyed the directive and a new SG was appointed.

Within few hours after the news went viral on social media and other online news media, there was a protest by some students at the University of Zambia. By the time I was on my way home, there was commotion on great east road as students had blocked the road with stones and lit fire from huge logs of wood. When police moved in to try and control the situation, all hell broke loose and this had become a full scale riot.

I don’t think this was one issue that the students needed to be involved in. Those students aggrieved by the decision Guy Scott made to fire Edgar Lungu should have just voiced their displeasure through a media statement. At the time of this riot, there were more pressing issues that the students needed to address such as the issue of delayed payments of meal allowances and the issue of student accommodation and the Commonwealth Center which had been a thorn in the flesh for the students in the preceding weeks.

In addition, there was also the hot topic of student bursary system which gained public attention after a first year student committed suicide ‘in protest’ of being denied government sponsorship through the bursary committee that reduced the number of students on bursary. The students had on days before rioted and fought running battles with the police. Before getting to a point where a student committed suicide and others rioting, a student Union leader had been arrested for having a lone protest by walking to state house where according to news reports he had intended to seek the attention of the head of state on the looming issue of reduced number of students on bursary.

The union leader’s actions were an act of bravery and I personally commend him because he got the attention of the nation without throwing a single stone. He didn’t inconvenience any motorist (the tax payers that fund university education), by lighting fires on the road and causing great panic, commotion or damage to vehicles. This is the type of protest I agree with. I know for sure that a peaceful protest doesn't always end up peaceful because mob behavior doesn’t always guarantee peaceful endings.

In addition, there are many times when police mishandle the students while trying to contain the situation. Many a time the police 'ignite' the protests to turn into full riots by firing tear gas canisters onto campus and at times in the rooms where even the more peaceful students would be studying or even sleeping.

I don’t know what the popular view could be, but in my opinion there are more important issues university students can riot about, and a secretary general of a political party being fired isn’t one of them.

female university students wash their eyes after
tear gas canisters were thrown into their rooms

The grade nine pupils

University students rioting over political party internal matters is outlandish, maybe ill-advised, but the protest which was downright ridiculous was when Grade 9 pupils mostly in Kitwe were reported to have rioted after going into examination rooms and discovering that the examination paper questions were not what they were made to believe would be through some fake leaked examination papers. The pupils were said to have been so incensed after discovering that the examination questions were different from what their leaked copies had made them believe and immediately after the end of the examination, they mobilized themselves and rioted.

The question is; are these pupils entitled to a snapshot or even preview of the examination papers before the examination day? How else can anyone justify the actions taken by these pupils if not that they felt a high degree of entitlement to preview the examination paper!

First of all, it is illegal to see or be in possession of an examination paper be it a fake or actual one before the official date and starting time. Secondly why on earth are these students heavily dependent on examination papers leaking before examination date? Aren’t they being taught adequately to enable them take the examinations without any malpractice?

I am glad the Examination Council of Zambia is finally looking like they are seriously fighting the scourge of examination paper leakages. The irony of this all is that these rioting pupils caused damage to some property at schools. This is the same school they expect their brothers and relatives to get an education from. Vandalism of public property which ideally helps many serious pupils to obtain an education!

The epidemic of examination paper leakages was probably seriously spreading in the 1990's. By the time ,I was in the 9^th grade, there were whispers of leaked papers but no one ever publicly saw one or claimed to have seen one or benefited from it. But back then it was made known to all of us through news reports that some examination candidates were having undue advantage over others by having access to examination papers before the examination date. However, as time has passed, many years later today I have heard pupils complaining that they hadn’t any pre-examination access to any exam papers. Over the years it seems most pupils feel it is their right to have access to examination papers before the examination date. This is so shameful and if I was the teacher of the students that rioted, I'd not allow the boys and girls back at the school if by chance they made it to grade 10.

I hope the efforts by government, police and the Examination Council of Zambia to fight this form of examination malpractice continues to yield results. We cannot get to a situation where these pupils even feel it is their enshrined rights to gain undue advantage or they will riot and damage public property. This the lowest level of senselessness a pupil can get to. Downright pathetic!

A picture mocking university students that made rounds on social media
after the recent riots at the institution

The other rioters…

When it comes to rioting, ruling party political cadres always think this is their number one right enshrined in the constitution, and they were never on this earth ever going to be left out when it came to protesting on the matter of Edgar Lungu. Some of them were gathered at Belvedere lodge on Leopards Hill road where some of the mourners during the president’s funeral had gathered when news broke that Edgar lungu had been fired as SG. They soon mobilized themselves on the busy road and blocked traffic with burning tires on the road. I won’t say much about political party cadres rioting over a political issue.

Suffice to say news quickly spread outside of Zambia and some travel agents quickly sent travel warnings stating there were full scale riots in Lusaka and that international travelers to Zambia were being advised against going to certain parts of Lusaka. I won’t dwell on what really happened that evening so I will leave it there.

After all is said and done, there are protests that are well meaning and are in my view laudable. I can mention a few and I’d start with the foil Vedanta protests in London. Besides the foil Vedanta protests there have been other worthwhile protests like the Hong kong protests which began in September. There have been many other protests of late, including protest against the Nigerian government’s alleged lack of decisive action against Boko Haram and of course the protests in the USA by black minorities against white police officers who have been trigger happy when the victims are all black men.

It's not my intention to end with any ounce of irony, but hey what do you make of this? In commenting on the protest in London by Foil Vedanta, Afrika Diaspora and other groups who besieged the Zambian High Commission in London, former Zambian minister of mines and minerals development, Dr Kalombo Mwansa is quoted to have said; “Zambia should ably benefit from it’s minerals wealth. It’s not acceptable that the total Zambian labour force of 600,000 should contribute more to the treasury … than all mining companies put together…”

 Really! Oh! 

This is Systematic Racial Injustice

“Everyone is crying out for peace, yes
None is crying out for justice
Everyone is crying out for peace, yes
None is crying out for justice

I don't want no peace
I need equal rights and justice
I need equal rights and justice
I need equal rights and justice
Got to get it, equal rights and justice”

Equal rights and Justice is perhaps one of my stand-out songs from the late great Jamaican reggae artist Peter Tosh. The lyrics of the song are as piercingly clear as daylight. The lyrics are repeated over and over in a way that permeates even into the mind of a non-reggae fan.

I am not the biggest fan of reggae music, but I have come to appreciate the messages in most reggae songs especially the ones done by Bob Marley and his group of wailers that included Peter Tosh. The first two verses above of Peter Tosh’s song, gives an idea of what his thought process was. Yes peace is what the world needs, but it is forlorn to demand for peace where equality and justice are non-existent.

What am I on here? Definitely not a reminder of the 1980’s hit songs. I am never one to look backwards when looking forwards is available. However, the recent protests and demonstrations in the USA have reminded me of the lyrics of Peter Tosh and I realized that his song is as much relevant today as it was in 1982. The protests in St Loius area started following a grand jury’s decision not to indict a Ferguson, Mo., white police officer, Darren Wilson, who fatally shot and killed 18 year old black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9, 2014.

While the area of Ferguson may have become notorious with police brutality towards blacks, the killing of unarmed black men has continued unabated countrywide as 34 year old Rumain Brisbon was also killed by a police officer in north phoenix following a chase and scuffle.

In the days that have followed, the protests have spread to Oakland, Berkely and San Francisco prompting many news networks to report the protests to have reached a nation-wide scale after a black New York City resident Eric Garner, died after a white city police officer put him in what is being widely referred to as a choke hold.

Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, and John Crawford have all been recently killed in circumstances which are racially propped, fueling mistrust and raising the voices against mistreatment of black people at the hands of white police officers. 

Justice must be for all races

For those of us following the stories on cable TV many miles away, these may seem as just another breaking story. These events in my view are very regrettable and an affront on humanity. The fact that this is all happening in the USA which is the land of plenty where freedoms abound only comparable to atmospheric oxygen, is an embarrassment to humanity.

Since America is usually the ‘world standard’, I will not be surprised when police at home here in Africa shoot innocent citizens and get away with it giving reasons that police in the USA do not get prosecuted too. That may sound comical but it was the kind of answer given by our Zambian politicians during the constitutional review process when the will of the people was clearly to do away with the death penalty. Not once, but repeated with great clarity and succinct, the answer was, that ‘America still upholds the death sentence.’

Well, not many will agree with me that the recent murders of Rumain Brisbon, Michael Brown and Eric Garner though not racially motivated, their known killers have escaped justice because of the racial issue and nothing else. It seems the land of freedom has not yet unfastened the shackles that deny freedom, equal rights and justice for all. Selective justice is the order which has kept the killers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Rumain Brisbon.

The case of Trayvon Martin may not be recent but his shooting was in the same line as that of Michael Brown. The fallacy of the legal process that followed in seeking justice for his known killer is what brings me back to the racial debate. Trayvon was a black teenager who happened to be walking wearing a hoodie over his head and ultimately had his life cut short for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

His killer, Mr George Zimmerman who was doing neighbourhood watch patrol, claims he asked the young man to stop but he didn’t and instead reached his hands in his  jacket and fearing he was drawing out a gun, Mr Zimmerman shot at him a couple of times killing the young man instantly. Trayvon Martin’s body was found with no weapon on him and investigations ended with George Zimmerman facing murder charges in a Florida court which would eventually clear him of all charges.

Nobody can credibly claim to know with any degree of certainty what transpired in the confrontation between the two involved individuals.  Since only Mr. Zimmerman lived past the confrontation to tell his account in court. No one will ever know the actual truth and facts of the evening. The situation can almost be likened to that of Oscar Pistorious and Reeva Steenkamp-the world may never know the truth.

As it turned out, the six member all-female jury found George Zimmerman’s account of what transpired, certainly both plausible and to a high degree supported by the physical evidence. Accordingly, they determined that there was reasonable doubt of any culpability thus cleared him of all charges.

What followed the decision were protests from the black communities who asked the question that had the roles and races been reversed, would a black George Zimmerman have avoided jail for fatally shooting a white Trayvon Martin?

I can still ask the same question for Michael brown. If an 18 year old white Michael Brown just going into college with no criminal record was shot dead by a black police officer Darren Wilson, will the officer have walked freely?

The fact that a grand jury cleared Mr Wilson and found him with no case to answer brings me to my next point, that the systems are structured to protect wrong doers on racial lines. 34 year old Brisbon’s case for instance was the 19^th time police opened fire on a suspect in Phoenix in 2014. Simple truth is that they get away with it so they do it again, and again.

Look at how the investigations and consequent prosecution of George Zimmerman went. With no eye witnesses and the only account coming from the suspect it proved difficulty to prove such a case beyond any reasonable doubt. Knowing that murder would be hard to prove the District Attorney and his team of prosecutors in Florida decided to prosecute Mr Zimmerman on cases they would find it the hardest to secure conviction. If the charge was manslaughter, it would have been much easier to secure a conviction of George Zimmerman.

I may not be a criminal law guru but the truth is that it is not the easiest of undertaking to secure a conviction where the only other witness is the deceased. Without making a habit of referencing the Oscar Pistorious case, the blade runner was not found guilty of murder but thank God, judge Masipa found the killer of Reeva Steenkamp guilty of culpable homicide.

Looking back at the Trayvon Martin case, the system, through first the investigating officers then the prosecution attorneys, had a daunting task of proving murder beyond a reasonable doubt there by giving the jury the easiest job-let George Zimmerman walk free.

Perhaps a more damning illustration that the justice system supports these inhuman and highly racially inclined murders is yet the case of Michael Brown. Among the documents that the St Louis prosecuting attorneys released on November 24 after the grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson are; police radio traffic; and an alleged audio recording of the shots fired by the police officer, a transcript of testimony from an Air Force pathologist who performed an autopsy.

Police officer Darren Wilson told the grand jury that his gun went off during a tussle with Brown through the open window of his police car moments before Brown was fatally shot. The Associated Press has reviewed all of the grand jury documents that have been released and none appear to include a transcript or a recording of a two-hour FBI and county police interview with Brown's friend, Dorian Johnson, who was with Brown when he was shot.

Dorian Johnson was walking with Michael Brown when they encountered Officer Wilson in a Ferguson street. Wilson fatally shot Brown, who was unarmed, after a struggle. According to Dorian Johnson, Wilson provoked the violence. Dorian also said Wilson fired at least one shot at his friend while Brown was running away. Unlike the case of Trayvon Martin where the only other witness died, here the justice system decided to do away with the evidence of the only witness and only deliberated on the evidence of the suspect. What a fallacy!

Protests against the killing of blackmen: Picture source- Associated Press

My view… My thoughts…

I can’t help but think Peter Tosh was right. Who needs peace? The pictures we are seeing on TV every day would not be as they are if Darren Wilson was not cleared by the grand jury. In some cases the protests have become violent with protestors resorting to looting, and police employing full force and effecting arrests. In order to achieve peace, justice must be served in a system that promotes equality before the law.

In towing the line of thought provided by Peter Tosh, it is actually easy to relate his thoughts to Haile Selassie who said; “Until the philosophy which hold one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned…, everything is war. Me say war.
That until there is no longer 1st class and 2nd class citizens of any nation. Until the color of a man's skin is of no more significa…nce than the color of his eyes, me say war. That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race me say war!”

There is no way a system should perpetuate the killing of one race by another with such impunity. Yes the cases do pass through the justice system so to some extent there is action. The truth is that these cases are just taken through a justice system that makes sure the cases are eventually dropped. The old adage says, justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.

I have for a long time mulled over the credibility of justice systems and the law profession as a noble and honorable one given that in most cases the application of justice is relative. One case with the same facts can get a thousand judgments by different judges. Then there is the question of which system is most fair, the one where the learned judges decide guilty or innocent or where a jury of chosen citizens decides. The degree of inconsistencies is too high in current justice systems the world over.

Further, the application of true justice is in my view flawed by the fact that while it may be legal to do an activity 'A' in area '1', it may be illegal to do the same activity ‘A’ in area 2. Maybe that is even less confusing than the fact that crime ‘B’ committed by suspect C can result in a guilty verdict if represented by attorneys ‘XYZ’, the same crime ‘B’ committed by the same suspect C may result in an innocent verdict when represented by attorneys ‘ABC’. Still, you could substitute have the same defence attorneys but just put there a different judge and you get a totally different verdict.

I know for sure the law profession has tried to standardize by bringing up concepts like ‘precedent’ which cases are referred to previous similar cases and judgment made on the basis of an earlier ruling. The question though remains that justice systems whether in USA, UK, South Africa or Zambia are heavily flawed and true justice is rarely served. The rich get away with a lot of indiscretions while the poor suffer even for crimes of others or become constant victims like Michael Brown paid with his life. It is not only on the basis of social class that justice is served or denied but also on racial lines. Taking someone’s life and having a system protect you because of your skin colour is the worst form of inequality and injustice.

There are half baked attempts at ending racism in the world like the attempt to rid the problem in sport. I say half-baked because I see no reason to fight a white footballer who in the heat of the moment in a game calls a black footballer a nigger but do nothing to a white police officer who shoots to death a black teenager walking by the sideway with his friend. Maybe yes the footballer deserves some sort of punishment or the white fan in the stands who directs monkey chants at a black player or throws bananas deserves a stadium ban so they can learn to be civilized, but that white cop who chokes a black suspect to death must be prosecuted for taking a life away.

Throwing a banana is a lesser form of racism and why should we fight the lesser form and not the kind that has no regard of the life of another race. Racism as minorities experience it and as it is understood in most social justice circles is worse when it is in the form of a systematic kind of oppression. Then, it may be difficulty to cure.

The American black community must also come to terms with the fact that civil rights activists of yester-year like Jesse Jackson will not get them anywhere if in 2014 they have not yet achieved the right to life for the Black man. Now is the time for the American black community to identify new leaders in the fight for civil liberties as clearly they are still too far from civilisation.

I say so because the recent killings may have attracted the attention of the media, but a lot of injustices take place in the American justice system. A book I was reading earlier this year highlights the problem faced by minorities as African-Americans and Hispanics in the USA where the justice system makes it easier for them to go to jail and as a consequence generations end up behind bars with no future and this is running from one generation to the next.

In the book titled, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, the author Michelle Alexander highlights the facts that the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The author brings out simple statistics and facts to prove that the US justice system targets black men for mass incarceration at the forefront for racial injustice in America which destroys the black communities and that of other minorities.

That said, there are still questions that beg for honest answers. If justice systems can protect someone that takes another person’s life, where are the lawyers who swore to protect the noble profession? Why can’t this great anomaly in the justice system and law be fixed? Does morality count in Law? To whom are judges accountable to? How relative is justice and application of the law?

These are not questions for the American justice system only. In Zambia race may not rank high on the list of parameters for injustice in our police and courts of law but the social class parameter ranks high any day. Stereotypes of tribe can also prove a stumbling block on how one receives fairness in the justice system in Zambia.

These killings in the USA have exposed the decades old worst form of systematic racial oppression and America must know that peace is being jeorpadised in that great country and consequently the world at large. Peace doesn’t exist where there is injustice.