A Focus on Politics of Human Rights in the Midst of Nolle Prosequi at Kamwala Remand Prison in Zambia: The Bad, The Good and The Rhetoric
Authors: Phiri Chidongo , Kalimaposo Kalisto , Kamanga Gilbert , Tembo Pilira , Mulenga-Hagane Lydia Mukuka , Sinyangwe Bryan 
Published: September 2024

This paper aims at analysing the reasons for human rights abuses in Zambia. To do this, the paper used the validity of Allen Buchanan [1] arguments applied in Zambia, at Kamwala remand prison, that says: “in The Heart of Human Rights law, is that it possesses a strength that allows it to govern issues that were traditionally within the jurisdiction of the state, such as how it treats its own citizens.” With a posterior knowledge of numerous efforts to address human rights violation at Kamwala remand prison, nothing progressive has been done due to the unequal enforcement of the Nolle law. This because, in Zambia, citizens assumed that protection of human rights is a mere and empty rhetoric by the state because, they are accused as being both the primary guarantor and abuser of human rights to citizens. Mostly, the state has been accused as the abuser in the unfair application of the Nolle prosequi law towards political opponents, which is a significant concern to the socio-legal development approach in Zambia. To the Zambians, the Nolle prosequi law is mere rhetoric used by the state in their quest to persuade the Zambian people about the rule of law. The opposition political parties affirm the unfair application of the Nolle Prosequi principle especially in criminal matters by citing decisions to discontinue certain criminal charges before the court coming from the President of the Republic or from the Minister of Justice, with a very few number of insignificant cases being Nolle prosed by the State Counsel or the Attorney General. This confirms how the Zambian Executive has a strong influence over the Judiciary contrary to the Principle of Separation of Powers as propounded by Aristotle in his Book “Politics”. This act validates the significant gaps in the socio-legal framework, which perpetuates inequalities, even with the human rights principles available in the post-independence constitutions of Zambia. Therefore, one wonders how human rights that have typically been viewed under international law as embodying interests that are natural, universal or human can be upheld in the midst of the Nolle law that is constantly abused by the state authorities in Zambia. Methodologically, the paper used a qualitative method of analysis to identify unfair practices sustaining human right abuses linked to the unfair execution of the Nolle towards inmates at Kamwala correctional facility in Zambia. Theoretically, the paper was guided by compliance theories. These approaches underpinned enforcement strategies, seeking to coerce states into compliance, through sanctions, material inducement or name-and-shame strategies. The paper brings to bare issues that prevent human rights compliance such as through the unjust application of the Nolle, corruption and bureaucracy by state institutions. The study postulates that the enhancement of a national protection system in each country, reflecting national and international human rights norms, should be the principal objective of the Zambian government.