Maravi

‘Rupiah will have to answer over Mongu shootings’

‘Rupiah will have to answer over Mongu shootings’
By Mwala Kalaluka in Mongu
Sun 16 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT

A Mongu businessman says President Rupiah Banda will have to answer over the police's shooting of his nephew during the fracas that erupted between officers and residents over the Barotseland Agreement on Friday.

And the Police top command yesterday sent over 50 paramilitary police officers to Mongu for reinforcement.

In an interview at Lewanika General Hospital where he took his nephew Caleb Ng’andu, 22, after he was shot and injured by police in Limulunga, Morris Litula said President Banda and the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) would have to answer over the shooting incident.

Ng'andu suffered intestinal damage after the bullet entered his abdomen and came out the other side. He had to undergo emergency surgery. So far, nine people, among them an 11-year-old boy, are nursing bullet wounds in Lewanika General Hospital.
Litula said he held President Banda and the BRE responsible over the shooting of his nephew because of the heavy-handed manner the government and the traditional establishment were handling the issue of the Barotseland Agreement.

Litula said before the shooting incident, he was among some businessmen that were taken to the police station on the basis that they were the ones allowing Barotse activists to place barricades on the roads.

“My nephew was shot at in Limulunga,” Litula said.

“I am not happy over what has happened. People should have been allowed to sit down and discuss. These shootings have caused chaos and people will not relent now.”

Litula said most of the people that had been shot by the police were not even at the venue where the Barotse activists' public meeting was supposed to take place in Limulunga.

One of those injured was identified as Chilemu Chilemu, a grade five pupil at Mongu's Imwiko Basic School. A team of health personnel were on hand at Lewanika General Hospital's Casualty Department but the hospital administration were in a quandary as they could not use the ambulance to ferry any injured people to the institution.

And at around 18:30 hours on Friday, a team of police officers took a body of an unidentified young male who they said was found properly placed in the middle of the road at Malengwa.

The firing of live ammunition around Mongu town continued into the evening with some of the youth activists promising to 'deal' with the police officers later in the night. Some Mongu residents who feel might be on the police wanted list have left the town.

And irate youths on Friday caused extensive damage to the Mongu Municipal Council offices as they fought with police officers along the town's Independence Avenue.
Meanwhile, police have arrested a former Ngambela prime minister of Western Province Maxwell Mututwa in connection with the activism arising from the Barotseland Agreement.

Calm has returned to Mongu. Yesterday morning, most Mongu and Limulunga residents were seen trying to get back to their normal businesses and police vehicles that were seen patrolling the two places were mostly ignored.

However, the main roads in the two places, which are about 17 kilometres apart, were littered with debris of the barricades that had been placed there by the youth activists on Friday.

And operations at Mongu Municipal Council have suffered following the damage caused to the local authority's offices and equipment by irate youths that resisted attempts by the police to push them away from the roads leading to the town centre.

The youths used stones, logs and other tools to damage doors and windows at the council offices. A fire tender, two hearses and two Toyota Hilux vehicles had their windscreens shattered by the irate protesters. Mongu town clerk Frank Kalenga checked on the damage yesterday morning and wondered how the council was going to deliver services to the people in the light of the vandalism on its offices and equipment.

And following the Friday fracas, Western Province minister together with community development minister, Sikwibele Mwapela and Michael Kaingu respectively, held a consultative meeting with about 20 senior Mongu residents at Country Lodge.

Among those that attended the meeting were former Zambian High Commissioner to South Africa Silumelume Mubukwanu, Jubilee Zambia provincial coordinator Evans Musialela, Charles Nyambe, Bernard Silumesii, a representative from Oblate Radio Liseli and some church representatives.

Meanwhile, the police has continued to clamp down on the so-called ringleaders of the Barotse activism with the latest being Mututwa, who was arrested in Senanga around 11:00 hours yesterday as he was getting back to his base from Mongu using a cab.

Police sources in Senanga said Mututwa was picked up together with the cab driver. The sources said Mututwa was taken from Senanga to Mongu Central Police station where he was going to be detained.

There was also pandemonium in Limulunga yesterday morning after police started picking males from their houses.

Men in Limulunga Royal Village accused the police of trying to provoke them following their decision to harass and detain most of them.

Labels: BAROTSE ROYAL ESTABLISHMENT, BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT

posted by MrK @ 7:55 AM