Mon, 05 Jun 2017 12:51:29 +0000
By KALOBWE BWALYA
POLICE should hunt down a group of tribalists threatening to kill Easteners in Southern Province.
Former minister Alfred Ndlovu has called on the police to launch a serious man hunt and flash out the Mau mau, a criminal grouping that surfaced with a letter of demand to the President.
And Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo has vowed that the criminal group would be hunted down and that Zambian has more than 73 tribes and that the group calling itself ‘Mau Mau’ would be treated as criminals.
In an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Ndhlovu said it was criminal and disappointing that some UPND members could go to the extent of planning to kill innocent people because of cheap politics.
“Southern Province has been part of Zambia since Northern Rhodesia, so we must not mix freedom with poor politics which are being exercised by people in the UPND party, but to have mature politics by promoting dialogue and argue sensibly.
“It is sad to read in a newspaper that there is a group calling itself ‘Mau Mau’ in Southern Province which is planning to start killing people from Eastern Province, hence Police should move in quickly before innocent lives are lost,” said Mr Ndhlovu.
Mr Ndhlovu said people who were spearheading the ‘Mau Mau’ group should have their heads examined because a normal person could not think of taking away someone’s life because of politics.
Mr Ndhlovu, has since called on law enforcement agencies to start arresting them for threatening to kill people which might bring about anarchy and tension in Zambia.
In a letter dated May 3, 2017 addressed to the Provincial minister Dr. Edify Hamukale, the same group also calling itself “True Tongas” has made five demands to the Government, saying failure to do so, it would start killing people from Eastern Province, employed or living in Southern province.
Among the demands, the group wants President Edgar Lungu to return Itezhi- Tezhi and Chirundu districts to Southern Province and also to free all Tongas detained or serving jail sentences.
“Using this correspondence, Tongas under oath wish to underline the following demands to Mr Edgar C. Lungu: Bring back Itezhi- Tezhi and Chirundu to Southern Province, release all Tongas from prison , increase the number of cabinet ministers, stop killing Tongas and re-employ all Tongas chased from different workplaces,” the letter reads.
The clandestine group claims to have the support of some chiefs in the region.
