Shocking footage showing armed police officers brutally beating up an unarmed and defenseless man has emerged. The unidentified man was among those that had gathered to show solidarity to UPND vice-president for administration Geoffrey Mwamba as he was being questioned at Lusaka’s Woodlands police station on Wednesday.
And The Zambia Police Service has reportedly launched an investigation into the excessive use of force by some of its officers as they saught to disperse the otherwise peaceful crowd.
According to Muvi TV, police chief Kakoma Kanganja has confirmed receiving reports of human rights abuses by his officers and says an inquiry into the same has been instituted.
The 30-second clip that has since gone viral, starts with three police officers cornering the UPND cadre as he attempts to flee the area. They then throw him to the ground and one of the officers repeatedly strikes him in the chest with the butt of his AK-47 rifle. The three then proceed to take turns in savagely kicking the hapless man in the head.
Scores of UPND members and sympathisers had defied police orders not to accompany Mwamba to the police station where he had been summoned for questioning on accusations of training a militia group at his business premises in Lusaka’s Villa Elizabetha area.
This prompted police to fire teargas canisters. In the ensuing melee, some officers took the opportunity to unleash the kind of savegery one can only associate with war-torn countries such as Somalia.