Lusaka, 11 April, 2024 / 4:11 pm (ACI Africa).
Church leaders in Zambia have condemned the police for summoning a Catholic Priest in the country, and described the incident as “highly irregular and contradictory.”
Zambian police are said to have summoned Fr. Chewe Mukosa to appear before the Copperbelt Police Headquarters “for the purpose of investigations” on Tuesday April 9.
The police later issued a statement withdrawing the summon and urged the member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv.) not to appear before them saying, “After reassessment of the situation, it has been determined that there is no need for his immediate appearance or involvement in any ongoing investigations or inquiries.”
Police Public Relations Officer, Rae Hamoonga, said the Catholic Priest had been summoned “to provide a statement regarding remarks made during a religious gathering, which were deemed to potentially constitute hate speech.”
In a Wednesday, April 10 statement, members of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) found it “highly irregular and unacceptable that contradictory statements and actions have emerged regarding Fr. Chewe Mukosa's situation especially from two senior government offices.”
