Maravi

Child Barotse detainee dies

Child Barotse detainee dies
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sat 23 Apr. 2011, 04:21 CAT

A 16-year-old Limu-lunga boy detained in Mumbwa over the January 14, 2011 Barotseland Agreement-related Mongu fracas has died in police custody. And PF national chairperson Inonge Wina says Kabayo Kabayo's death, apart from being a family tragedy, reflects the terror state that the country has been plunged into.

Meanwhile, Charles Milupi says the MMD government's brute force against the people of Western Province is akin to genocide.

Kabayo Kabayo, a cousin to the deceased, who is also Kabayo Kabayo said in an interview from Mumbwa yesterday that the boy detained at Mumbwa State Prison died in Mumbwa District Hospital early yesterday morning.

Kabayo said his cousin was not sick at the time he was arrested in Mongu over the Barotse riots.

“He died in Mumbwa Hospital at around 05:25 hours. I don't know what he was suffering from,” Kabayo said. “I came four days ago but for the past four days he was not talking. He did not know that I was around. The doctor said he had an infectious bacteria in the blood.”

Kabayo said according to the death certificate, doctors attributed his cousin’s death to septicemia.

“I tried to ask the nurse what this was but she said I should ask the doctor,” Kabayo said. “He was on drip and he was not eating. The last time he had food, an orange, that is Friday.”

Kabayo said on Thursday medical authorities placed a tube in his cousin’s nose to enable him feed.

“He had hiccup for the past two days,” Kabayo said. “At the time he was arrested he was just okay.”

Septicemia is a systematic infection, usually caused by bacteria of various type contaminating a person’s blood. When septicemia is not treated with the appropriate antibiotics, the infected blood can then contaminate other organs or tissues of the body, creating life-threatening infections. There are many things that can cause septicemia, most notably cuts that have become infected.

Kabayo said the boy's mother passed away but that his father, a Mukelabai Kabayo, was also critically ill in Limulunga.

“The other grandfather from the mother's side has been informed,” said Kabayo. “We are taking the body to Limulunga.”

The deceased’s uncle Silukena Simui of Lusaka's Makeni area said in an interview yesterday that they expect the government to facilitate the taking of the body to Limulunga where the boy was arrested.

“They know where they arrested him from and so the people are waiting,” Simui said. “The people have no transport to come to Mumbwa.”

Simui said his late nephew, who was arrested in Limulunga on January 23, was almost granted bail on medical grounds but that the State objected.

And in an interview from Mongu yesterday, Wina said it was a great pity that Kabayo died, especially after the police turned down his fellow detainees' request for him to be granted bail so that he could be close to his relatives in Mongu.

“This is really a big challenge to the young people of Western Province and it is a very negative reflection of the quality of service that the Police are giving to this country,” Wina said.

“The use of live ammunition seems to be the order of the day and until President Banda intervenes to stop this carnage at the hands of the state, we are precipitating violence that we may not be able to control in future.”

Wina said it was imperative that President Banda, as Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces, takes swift action to curb the killings that were going on in the country.

Wina said the problem started in Mongu, before it was witnessed in Mazabuka and that the same issue had emerged in Mansa.

“Who knows, next it will be somewhere,” Wina said. “This is creating a terror state. Unless and until the President as the Commander, is on top of this situation, this country will be plunged into a lot of trouble.”

Wina also urged the government to address the issue of unemployment.

“In Mansa, I have seen a lot of looting and that is not a normal situation when people help themselves to things that really don't belong to them,” said Wina.

“For the young person who has just died it is a tragedy for the family, a very big tragedy for the family in Limulunga because he died under very suspicious circumstances because of the bad prison conditions where he died and where we are not sure whether he received adequate medical attention. He died even before his case had gone through judgment. He was still awaiting judgment.”

General Malimba Masheke says it is time the people of Western Province took decisive action against President Banda’s brutal government because they cannot continue to lose their children.

Gen Masheke, a former Zambia Army commander and prime minister in the UNIP government, said Kabayo’s death was a serious development.

“This is a very serious development, we can't lose our children like that and our representatives from home who are in Parliament are quiet because of silver coins,” Gen Masheke said.

“Silver coins are making them behave in a manner where they behave like Judas Iscariot.”

Gen Masheke said it was as if the people of Western Province had no parliamentary representation.

“What are they representing?” Gen Masheke asked. “They can only go to the Kuomboka because it is a ceremony, when we are mourning they are not there. The people of Western Province must make a decision whether these are the people who will represent us. They are part of a government that is ill-treating and killing people.”

Gen Masheke said what this entailed was that the government had lost control.

“They have lost control, even the police are not obeying them. Do they still want to remain in-charge of the country if they are not effective?” Gen Masheke asked.

Meanwhile, Milupi said he felt aggrieved by Kabayo's death because he was from his Luena Constituency in Mongu.

“He is a child, 16-years-old, detained and he has died in detention. The offence he was arrested for was a bailable offence,” he said.

Milupi said had the boy not been detained hundreds of kilometres away from his home in Limulunga, he would not have died the way he did.

“That shows the levels of brutality to which President Banda and his administration can sink and we hope a death like that will haunt them for the rest of their lives,”Milupi said.

“We call upon civil society organisations that deal with human rights to take this matter very seriously and this includes Amnesty International. What is happening to these people is akin to genocide. This administration has got to be made aware that these issues, when they leave government will be looked at.”

Milupi said he did not understand why the government was arrogantly refusing to set up a commission of inquiry over the Mongu riots.

“They have refused to reason and as a result people are dying,” said Milupi.

Labels: BAROTSE FREEDOM MOVEMENT, CHARLES MILUPI, MONGU

posted by MrK @ 1:55 PM