Tag: Fanwell siadenge

    Siandenge will be Hichilema’s downfall

    Siandenge will be Hichilema’s downfall Featured

    August 10, 2023 by Socialist Party Zambia in

    After the events of the past two days, our thoughtful and honest conclusion is that the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of State House, Mr Fanwell Siandenge, is a danger to Mr Hakainde Hichilema’s presidency and the country.

    We say this without any grain of malice or ill intention. What we are saying is based on an exhaustive assessment of activities and events that have taken place in the country regarding my arrest and subsequent detention, all of which were totally unnecessary and ill advised.

    It requires very little effort for anybody to notice that there is chaos in the Zambia Police high command and by extension, the Presidency, or State House in particular. And the main culprit in all this is Mr Siandenge himself.

    It is evident that Mr Siandenge has been handed a blank cheque by Mr Hichilema to do exactly what he wants, which is most unfortunate, and this is what resulted in the unprecedented blunders, recklessness, and administrative chaos we witnessed in the police high command in the last two days.

    So, without regard for hierarchy, Mr Siandenge has been pulling strings and literally playing his superior, the Inspector General of Police, Mr Graphel Musamba, like a string puppet. For instance, we are fully aware of what transpired for Mr Musamba to shamelessly parade himself before cameras to read that disgraceful and outrageous speech word-for-word.

    Mr Siandenge is abusing the proximity and personal relationship he shares with Mr Hichilema. That is why, today, Mr Siandenge is like a god within the police and other state institutions, and nobody dares to question him on anything, including erroneous and senseless orders.

    Mr Siandenge, who is renowned within the system for watching over Mr Hichilema like a hawk and projecting himself as a true loyalist of greater strength, ability, and intelligence than everybody else around the President, has shrewdly brought Mr Hichilema and the entire presidency under his control without them even noticing. That is why he is able to get away with literally anything.

    But this is dangerous both for Mr Hichilema and the country. And the earlier Mr Hichilema realises this, the better for his administration and his legacy. Letting Mr Siandenge operate in an unrestrained manner like he has been doing lately will cost Mr Hichilema heavily and he will regret it someday soon.

    Being the Deputy Inspector General of Police in the Zambia Police Service is not just a fancy title; it’s a responsibility that requires a special set of skills and immense effort. It’s not a job for everybody. It’s a job for seasoned patriots with demonstrable maturity, objectivity, impact, and real vision – and not party zealots with limited knowledge and understanding of what they are supposed to do, like Mr Siandenge.

    The honest truth is, Mr Siandenge is not Deputy Inspector General of Police material. Yes, he may be relevant and effective in his personal dealings with Mr Hichilema but as DIG, the man is not fit or capable of holding that office or any other at that level.

    And Mr Siandenge’s continued existence in that role will just entrench the mediocrity we are experiencing in the police today and degrade the presidency even further.

    Let Mr Hichilema provide a career path alternative for Mr Siandenge and save the country from his tactless, primitive, and ignorant policing. Policing and law enforcement has become so sophisticated and difficult to navigate that dunderheads like Mr Siandenge will be forever lost at sea.

    Remove Mr Siandenge and save yourself from shame!

    Fred M’membe
    President of Socialist Party

    I’ll defend the dismissed cops

    I’ll defend the dismissed cops Featured

    August 9, 2023 by Socialist Party Zambia in

    Today, I write to you from the dark, tiny, and cold concrete floorings of Lusaka’s Woodlands Police Station jail cells.

    As expected, it has been an extremely cold and long night on the floor, but by God’s grace we have made it and seen the sun rising again. A privilege and blessing from above we can never take for granted except to thank our creator for his divine protection and sustenance.

    It’s a brand new day and we look forward to witnessing what will unfold. On that score, please allow me to begin the day by addressing Mr Hakainde Hichilema and his far-right, corrupt UPND puppet regime.

    I want to be candid with Mr Hichilema and his most trusted lieutenant, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of State House, Mr Fanwell Siandenge, that theirs is an exercise in futility because at this stage, no matter what they do, they are already on the bad side of our country’s history – the losing side.

    And this is so because they are not with the people. They have quickly lost the touch and connection with the suffering masses of this country. Mr Hichilema and his far-right corrupt puppet regime is so neck deep in inequity. Such irresponsible, clueless, and cowardly leadership is not one that can scare us let alone frustrate our cause. There is no doubt that this is a failed project, and Mr Hichilema’s exit from office has just begun. The writing on the wall is clear.

    And my message to Mr Hichilema and his Gestapo venerating Zambia Police Service high command led by Mr Siandenge, is that, if it is a crime to defend the interests and rights of the 35 police officers who were dismissed from the Zambia Police Service irregularly without any disciplinary hearings whatsoever, for which I should be arrested, detained, prosecuted and sent to prison, then let it be so.

    I will stand by these police officers and many others this sadistic regime is ill-treating and intend to ill-treat in the future, because these police officers deserve our compassion, support and solidarity. Even if some of the officers mistreated me when they were in service, they all deserve my compassion, support and solidarity, and not retribution.

    Let Mr Hichilema and his league know that this type of primitive injustice and emotional torture, actually kills – it pushes some of the victims into severe depression and eventual death. Mr Hichilema should know that leadership without compassion is an old-fashioned mentality and nothing but complete savagery.

    The Zambian people must be made aware that today, we have a heartless, corrupt, and cruel tribalist in national leadership. And what we are witnessing currently, is exactly what happens in a country when such people rule. This is a cruel leadership that gets a kick from inflicting pain and suffering on its own citizens. But we are putting them on notice that we are ready for them and their excesses.

    I urge Mr Hichilema and his league not to treat police officers like common labourers or general workers – they are very important officers of the state who deserve much better treatment and respect.

    In fact, if there are two individuals in this country who are supposed to be more humane and compassionate to others, it’s Mr Hichilema and Mr Siandenge themselves, who suffered pain at some point in their lives. Clearly, the duo haven’t healed, they are still bitter people and bad students of history who cannot learn even from their own experiences, which is most unfortunate, as innocent Zambians will be made to pay for crimes they didn’t commit.

    But it also shows that the two are not opposed to what they saw as autocratic methods when they were in pain and suffering themselves.

    Fred M’membe
    President of the Socialist Party

    State house’s silence on rising incidences of police brutality and torture shocking

    State house’s silence on rising incidences of police brutality and torture shocking Featured

    July 3, 2023 by Socialist Party Zambia in

    STATE HOUSE is silent on the rising incidences of torture and brutality by the police! Why? Is it because it is complicit?

    Recently, the US State Department released a detailed report dubbed ‘USA 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Zambia’ which brought to light a number of human rights abuses committed by Mr Hakainde Hichilema’s administration.

    The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) also condemned the increased incidents of police brutality against members of the opposition and cited the recent arrests of PF presidential hopeful Mr Emmanuel Mwamba, PF member and blogger Mr Rizwan Patel as well as Mr Given Phiri, a co- accused person with former State House Special Assistant for Politics, Dr Christopher Zumani Zimba as among the incidents where police brutality was in evidence.

    LAZ further condemned the Inspector General of Police, Graphael Musamba, over his stance on police brutality, stating that there is no law which gives the police service power to brutalise citizens in the name of ‘minimum force’ during arrests. It also stated that it was not the function of the police to control the ‘toning down of citizens’, who have the right to freely express their views in line with their constitutionally protected freedoms. Earlier, Mr Musamba was reported as ‘urging the opposition to tone down and cooperate with the officers or else the police will use minimum force’.

    Amidst all these problems between the police and the public in general, State House has remained conveniently silent about what is going on. But we are not surprised because we have stated over and again that the gestapo style of policing that is currently taking place is under the orders and supervision of Mr Hichilema’s most trusted agent, Mr Fanwell Siandenge, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of State House, who is working with a hit squad of well-known UPND cadres drafted into the State House security system.

    It is also well known that in fact, Mr Siandenge is the de facto Inspector General of Police and all key decisions are taken by him while Mr Musamba remains a powerless Inspector General of Police. We say this with utmost sincerity and sympathy for Mr Musamba because no human being should be forced into such a situation. But we understand because that is Mr Hichilema’s style of leadership, in which he keeps some people merely to save face or for convenience while he continues to pursue increased political clout.

    Furthermore, the recent justifications and empty denials on this matter from Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Jack Mwiimbu, justice minister Mr Mulambo Haimbe and acting
    information minister Mr Makozo Chikote, only confirms one thing, the gross human rights violations by police are all part of the grand scheme to silence dissent hence the silence from Mr Hichilema, who should ideally be the one to address such very serious concerns.

    The partisan policing and torture the country is currently witnessing is fully sanctioned by the top UPND government leadership.

    It is now clear that those who don’t agree with Mr Hichilema or choose to align themselves with the opposition will be dealt with viciously. And the chilling incidents of brutality and torture by the police are calculated to intimidate the masses. This is meant to set the stage upon which the 2026 presidential and general elections will be held – unlawful use of force by police – but it won’t work because the police are not the law unto themselves.

    We also want to remind Mr Hichilema and his hit squad in the police that they are not big enough to stop the revolution that is being waged against poverty, corruption and imperialist puppet leadership. The struggle for justice, equity and peace will go on and the hope for a better socialist Zambia will not die. The Zambian people are resolved and cannot be cheated anymore.

    To the international community, in particular, the European Union (EU), who have chosen to pay a blind eye to these violations, we say, pretending that all is well in Zambia today is being complicit in the crimes committed. It is barbaric, inhuman and disrespectful to the Zambian people to endorse this regime, given the trend of brutality and torture against the innocent citizens we are seeing today.

    The rapidly shrinking political space and decline in freedoms of expression, movement and association under Mr Hichilema’s leadership is a travesty and adds to the increasing crackdown on peaceful dissent in the country. This is not the Zambia we all want and definitely, this is not how peaceful nations are built. Mr Hichilema’s heavy handed approach must be stopped forthwith.

    We demand that investigations into these gross violations be opened and the perpetrators together with their superiors issuing orders be brought to justice.

    Fred M’membe
    President of the Socialist Party