Country Reviews

 

Zambia - Crime and Justice Update

 

 

October 2007

This update is based on a recent AHSI review of the incidence and prevalence of crime in Zambia (Aug-Sep 2007). Data was obtained from focus group discussions and a survey [sample n=100, was not nationally representative] in Lusaka, Mansa, Chibuluma and Solwezi. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for data collection from representatives of public institutions, Resident Development Committees (RDCs), Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), focus group participants, and other key informants. The qualitative approach was deemed appropriate given that, to a large extent, the focus of the review was on community perceptions on the nature and extent of crime.

A total of 236 respondents participated in the review. These are broken down in the various categories shown below:

• 29 Government representatives
• 38 RDC Committee members
• 65 Focus group participants
• 100 Community members (structured questionnaire), and
• 4 Civil Society representatives

Findings

• Criminal activities are more pronounced in the cities and towns that are mainly along the railway line stretching from Livingstone in the Southern Province to Chililabobwe in the Copperbelt Province.
• Crimes that are commonly reported to the police and publicised in the media include murder, assault, rape and defilement, and corruption. Drug abuse and trafficking, and money-laundering are also reported but to a lesser extent.
• The level of crime in Zambia was generally described as either “Very high” or “High” by 80% of the participants who were subjected to the structured questionnaire. There was no significant difference, based on gender, on the respondents’ description about the level of crime in Zambia. (This was not a nationally representative sample)
• Corruption in the country was generally perceived to be very high by most of the review’s participants with 68% of those subjected to a structured questionnaire describing it as “Very high” and 98% of them noting that corruption is a serious problem requiring government attention.
• Women are mainly associated with crimes such as prostitution, assault emanating mainly from accusations of infidelity, and in a few cases, child stealing.
• Public institutions are the main culprit in as far as corruption is concerned. The police, local authorities and the national registration office are considered to be among the major culprits.
•  Corruption, drug trafficking and money laundering crimes in Zambia are committed by all categories of people irrespective of their social, political or economic standing. The Anti-Corruption Commission and the Drug Enforcement Commission have, for example, handled cases involving senior government officials, such as Permanent Secretaries and Cabinet Ministers at one time or another.
• Human trafficking activities, though not as yet very prevalent, are posing a serious challenge for government. Evidence of human trafficking syndicates in Zambia has been exemplified by the arrest of some culprits in various parts of the country including at the Lusaka International Airport.
• Illegal migration is a problem in Zambia. In 2005 and 2006, a total of 5,824 illegal migrants were detained out of which 535 were prosecuted while the remainder were either ‘removed’ or deported.
• Although six in ten (60%) of the participants subjected to the structured questionnaire noted that illegal migration is a problem in the area where they live, only (29%) of them admitted to disliking illegal migrants.
• Human rights violations are a source of serious concern for the government as well as the general public. Between 2001 and 2004, for example, the Human Rights Commission received a total of 3,104 complaints relating to human rights abuse from the country’s nine Provinces with the majority of the complaints emanating from Lusaka Province. The existence of different laws aimed at protecting the rights of children also seem to contribute to the ineffectiveness with which abusers of such rights can be dealt with.
• Organised crime in Zambia is not well documented or empirically analysed to clearly show the nature and/or trends of such a phenomenon. However, this type of crime has manifested itself in various criminal activities including the theft of motor vehicles, assault and aggravated robbery, drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, illegal poaching, and trafficking in military fire arms mainly for criminal purposes.