Law enforcement agencies have been cited as main perpetrators of torture.
Senior Legal Aid Officer from the Legal Aid Board, John Phiri also notes that the law is not very clear on how perpetrators of torture should be held accountable.
Speaking on a radio program to mark, International Day in Support of Torture Victims, which fell yesterday, Mr. Phiri pointed out the need to put in place strong laws to curtail incidences of torture, which are common among crime suspects.
And the Community Service Coordinator from the Child Protection Unit, Superintendent Gloria Mubita explained that the law stipulates that no Police Officer is above the law.
Ms. Mubita acknowledged that there have been cases before where Police Officers have had to be treated like ordinary citizens and investigated for torture allegations levelled against them.
She explained that in such instances, higher ranking Officers were usually assigned.
Ms Mubita however, explained that although Police Officers are allowed to exert minimum force in their line of duty, it was sometimes hard to draw the line.
And Winston Nunkwe, the Investigations Officer from the Human Rights Commission observed that sanctions within the law pose a threat to investigations into torture, as torture has not been adopted as crime in Zambia’s legislature.
And Bruno Ngosa from YWCA, the Young Women Christian Association cited wife battery and mistreatment of children as the commonest type of torture they have been handling.