Police actions un-called for! in Zambia

Blogger: Musukwa Frank- Disability Youth Activist- Zambia now @ National University of Ireland

In connection to the recent incident that happened in Sesheke District in Western Province of Zambia, in which a man who is blind, Fanwel Kamamba, happened to accidentally axe his one year old granddaughter to death when splitting firewood and thereafter ended up under police confinement with no clear consideration of the situation that resulted to the unforeseen misfortune. We in the Zambian Disability movement would like to show our dissatisfaction over the manner in which Mr.Kamamba’s case has been handled by police and the relevant authorities.

In the essence of legal illustration, we consider this an accident and not an intentional act and the fact that he is blind and had no intent to harm his granddaughter  makes it unacceptable  for the police to take such a magnitude of action that resulted in his imprisonment.

Zambia’s recent achievement in the ratification of the UN- Convection on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) stands out to test the readiness of the Zambian Government to act on any Disability Rights violation by its Agencies and institutions. It is important for the government to raise awareness about the CRPD to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities are protected in Zambia.

Considering that under the legal mechanisms through which Mr. Kamamba could access justice have not been considered, Article 12(4) of the CRPD makes the following important stipulations that “States Parties shall ensure that all measures that relate to the exercise of legal capacity provide for appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent abuse in accordance with international human rights law. Such safeguards shall ensure that measures relating to the exercise of legal capacity respect the rights, will and preferences of the person, are free of conflict of interest and undue influence, are proportional and tailored to the person's circumstances, apply for the shortest time possible and are subject to regular review by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body. The safeguards shall be proportional to the degree to which such measures affect the person's rights and interests.’’ Immediate action needs to be taken to enable Mr. Kamamba to enjoy his rights as he awaits justice since in simple terms, the situation in which the offence was committed was clearly under risk due to the continued negligence by government to not provide viable services for persons with disabilities to live independently in the community.

Its also a call to the Zambian Human Rights Commission and all its afflicts to take a strong stand on the police’s action and secure the immediate release of Mr. Kamamba on condition that he did not have the requisite intent to commit the crime for which he has been charged. 

One Billion Strong would like to thank the author of this press release for allowing us to post it in our weekly blog and we hope it draws more attention to this very important issue in Zambia and look forward to comments from readers. 

Disability at the US Republican National Convention

Weekly Blogger: Kelly Bunch

Earlier this week, Rick Santorum, a former American Republican Primary hopeful, delivered a speech to the Republican National Committee (RNC) in Tampa, Florida to support the republican nominee, Mitt Romney. Unlike most other speeches at this year’s RNC primary, the topic of disability came up several times, and most prominently in regard to a right to life issue for children with disabilities.  

Santorum spoke about how he and his wife disregarded the medical experts that told him that his daughter, Bella, who was born with trisomy, “was incompatible with life and to prepare to let go…even if she did survive her disabilities would be so severe that Bella would not have a life worth living.” He said, “We didn’t let go and today Bella is full of life and she has made our lives and countless others much more worth living.”

This kind of anti-medical model talk from Santorum was refreshing to hear from any politician in this election because it is the kind of rhetoric people have been using in the disability community to empower themselves for decades. The medical community tends to devalue the life of people with disabilities based on their conception of what a “normal human body” should be, and typically society does not question this authority.  Naturally, people with disabilities object, because they feel that they should be the expert on their own quality of life—not medical authorities.    

However, within the same breath several sentences earlier, Santorum spoke about shaking hands with people with disabilities that he had met during his campaign, and said he, “…cradled the little, broken hands of the disabled…Hands  that struggle and bring pain, hands  that ennoble us and bring great joy.” Unfortunately this rhetoric is not empowering for people with disabilities as  it paints them as helpless, defenseless, child-like, and dependent people. To be fair, perhaps he was referring to children with disabilities, but eventually children with disabilities, like all children, want independence and grow into adulthood. People with disabilities want to be treated with equality and dignity— not with charity or pity.

As the U.S. has been a leader in disability rights, the disability agenda of potential U.S. leaders are of worldwide importance. We hope to hear even more from American Republicans and Democrats on disability issues as the 2012 Presidential election draws closer.  

For the full text of Santorum’s speech go here: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80348_Page2.html