“WHERE ARE THE DETAINEES?” – CARITAS ZAMBIA DEMANDS

Caritas Zambia, the prominent social justice arm of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), has issued a stern warning regarding what it terms an alarming rise in arbitrary arrests and clandestine detentions across the country. In a strongly worded press statement, the organization condemned the practice of detaining individuals without disclosing their locations to families or legal counsel, noting that such heavy-handed tactics evoke painful memories of historical authoritarianism that Zambians fought hard to transcend. The Catholic body drew specific attention to the troubling case of former diplomat Ambassador Martha Lungu Mwitumwa and her colleague, Ms. Hannah Katontoka, who were taken into custody by state security agents. Caritas emphasized that Ambassador Mwitumwa lives with a chronic medical condition that requires strict, regular medication, raising profound humanitarian concerns over her safety and access to appropriate medical care while hidden from public scrutiny. Civil society organizations and human rights watchdogs have repeatedly cautioned that the shrinking civic and political space undermines Zambia’s hard-won democratic credentials. As political tensions fluctuate, critics argue that law enforcement agencies risk losing public trust when arrests bypass standard judicial procedures and constitutional safeguards. The right to liberty and due process are foundational tenets of the Zambian Constitution, which mandates that any detained citizen must be promptly charged and brought before a court of law. Caritas Zambia has urgently called upon the Zambia Police Service and other security apparatuses to immediately clarify the whereabouts of all detained individuals, grant immediate access to their families and legal representatives, and strictly adhere to constitutional due process. The organization stressed that maintaining peace, national stability, and public confidence requires absolute transparency and respect for human rights, irres