Pre-trial detention in Zambia

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa launched its report on pre-trial detention in Zambia on 25-26 July 2011.The report acknowledges Zambia’s achievement in steadily reducing the average time in police detention from 39 days in 2006 to 8 days in 2011, but found that time periods in police detention remain a cause for concern. Of further concern is the longer time periods applicable to cases ultimately withdrawn than cases resulting in a guilty verdict. Jean Redpath presented the findings of the case flow management section of the report on behalf of the Community Law Centre of the University of the Western Cape, in partnership with the Zambian Human Rights Commission. Earlier in July the World Bank re-classified Zambia as a lower-middle income country.