THE Human Rights Commission has commended Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja for prioritizing the continuous training of police officers.
HRC chairperson Mudford Mwandenga said the training would ensure that police officers adhered to high standards of professionalism and upheld and protected human rights in the execution of their duties.
“The Commission is therefore encouraged that the Police Command has taken a self-introspection and responded to the need to build the capacity of the Zambia Police Service in human rights as such efforts will help police officers t o effectively perform their duty of protecting life and property while respecting human dignity,” Mwandenga stated in a statement.
“Command is taking seriously the Constitutional provisions that mandate the Zambia Police Service to uphold human rights. Article 193 (2) (e) of the Zambian Constitution [Amendment] Act No. 2 of 2016 obliges the Zambia Police to, among other things, uphold the Bill of Rights. The Commission believes that the change in name from Zambia Police Force to the Zambia Police Service as stipulated under Article 193 of the Constitution, will require a paradigm shift that can be brought about through such continuous training programmes so that the spirit of service and respect for fundamental human rights is reflected in the attitudes and conduct of the law enforcement officers. It is in this regard that the Commission welcomes Inspector General Kakoma Kanganja’s emphasis on human rights as one of the issues that would be given serious attention during the in-service training programmes for police officers at Lilayi Police Training College, Godfrey Makuma in Sondela and Kamfinsa School of Public Order Maintenance.”
He stated that the HRC would continue to work closely with
the Zambia Police Service in this process of transformation and ensure that
there is compliance to human rights standards.
“The Human Rights Commission is a National Human Rights Institution
established under Article 230 of the 1991 Zambian Constitution as amended
by Act Number 2 of 2016 to, among other human rights functions, ensure that
the Bill of Rights is upheld and promoted,” stated Mwandenga.