Police in Kitwe have arrested 24 sympathizers of Fr Bwalya including Copperbelt Patriotic Front (PF) Provincial chairperson Elias Kamanga for riotous behavior.
The 24 were rounded up this morning by police after the mob run amok shortly after the court session at the Kitwe Magistrate court of Fr Bwalya.
Copperbelt Police Chief Antonneil Mutentwa confirmed the arrest of the sympathizers who assembled at the magistrate court in solidarity for Fr Bwalya when he appeared for the charged of conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.
Heavy presence of police was deployed along President Avenue where the magistrate court is located while police in riot gear kept vigil along the main roads within town centre as early as 07:30 hours in anticipation of any disturbances.
Fr Bwalya who is also the executive director for Change life or die Zambia has since denied the charge.
The sympathizers started throwing stones and sticks after the police tried to refrain then from form advancing towards the magistrate court building.
The sympathizers forced the police to fire blank shots in the air and tear gasses to disperse them.
And business temporarily came to a halt due to the fracas. Most shops and restaurants within town were found closed by 13:00 hours.
Meanwhile calm has returned to the city after Fr Bwalya was released on bail by a magistrate court.
Meanwhile, The Independent Churches Organizations in Zambia (ICOZ) has strongly condemned the agitation of riotous behaviour by some political cadres in Kitwe yesterday morning in sympathy of Change Life Zambia Executive Director Father Frank Bwalya who appeared in the Kitwe Magistrate court for plea.
ICOZ Board Chairperson David Masupa says Zambians must be mature enough by not engaging in unconstructive activities that rob them of their time to attend to meaningful ventures.
In a statement to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday Rev. Masupa appealed to Zambians not to be used as tools of violence by some politicians without a vision of moving the country forward.
He said people inciting members of the public to rebel against the government are prophets of doom.
Reverend Masupa said with the country showing positive indicators of economic growth, there was need for massive participation and hard work from all.
“The environment of exploring new business avenue is so much enabling that the sky is the limit in Zambia, this is the reason why currently there is an influx of foreign investors rushing to convert our natural resources into meaningful wealth,” he said.
He said it was therefore wrong for some leaders in the Catholic Church to advocate civil strife and disobedience when the economy and social environment is calling for full participation of citizens in order for them to become equal partners in wealth creation and sharing.
ZANIS
UNIP MULILO WAIKATAKO APAYA. Yaba we are reliving those days allover again . Its such a pity.
Rev Masupa, dont condemn the action condemn the cause of the riot. What really caused the riot is what you should condemn. In case you dont know i will gladly tell you: Arresting someone getting a lift from a friend and then taking him to remand prison when at least should have been detained in a police cell. How do you make of that Rev?
yaba bafikala bachilamo umo tuka mulasa nomufwi mummmmatakooo
#1 can you be serious? This is not a pre-school,if you miss pre-school please accompany your kids to one
The Police are always trigger hapi when it comes to opposition parties. They caused the fracas. why arrest father Bwalya. For just brandishing a red card? If the police has so much idol manpower, let them arrest soccer referees also that flash out red cards during a soccer match. No one complained to the police that by flashing a red card father Bwalya had comitted an offence..
In all honest, as a catholic throughout my life, I feel sad about the manner in which our shepards a participating in the political arena. Fr.Bwalya, no shed of humbleness its all pride and bad language. Fr. Miha worse. Hear him speak in bemba, its insults. The Arcbishop, I mean the Rt Rev. Mpundu the most High, he sounds like a full dish of hate, hate and nothing about love, vengence like the old church. There seem to be no Christ in their approach to governance issues. They are citizens like me but their calling requires them to be above board. No wonder we have been condemned as achurch to be genocide mongers.What a pity.
The best the govt could have done was to just ignore Fr Bwalya…unfortunately they are now making him more popular..as well putting at risk lives of innocent people who may have been caught in the firing range.
Iwe Rev Masupa, could you substantiate your claims that the “Catholic Church has been advocating for civil strife and disobedience” or are you just farting?
Is it this Friday, we will start flashing ‘red cards’, honking, blowing whisltes or trumpeting coz we had a feel of it yesterday!!
Let us look at the begining of violence. Why are u busy attacking the catholic church?? Infact attack individuals not church guys. A church is a community of which it even including bad ones.
#8 I concur with you. May I repeat what I said yesterday that how can the entire police force organise themselves in such a manner just to down play ‘one man’ flashing a small rectangular card. In fact my son asked me why and I answered that they are scared of one person who has coloured small paper red.
In Zambia, we don’t know how to down play things ‘Just Forget about it and do what is right’
PLIZ REV. JUST STAY OUT OF THIS WHO ASKED YOU TO SHOW AS YOU STUPID THICKING BY SAYING WHAT YOU SAID.THE PROBLEM WITH THESE SMALL CHURCHES FORMED BY PEOPLE DOING IT FOR BUSINESS IS THAT YOU THICK WHEN YOU CONDEM, SOMEONE IN POWER WILL CAME TO YOUR CHURCH AND PLEDGE A BENZ FOR YOU.DREAM ON REV.
This Fr. should concentrate of praying for pple instead of politics. You pple have starting travelling to Nigeria coz Zambian priests have decided to become politicians. Its a pity.
The dignity of the human conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. According to John Paul II, the church, apart from the fact that she analysed herself as ‘object’, was also the subject of a unique experience. The church must understand better necessity of associating dialogue with faith. The Church serves man and not vice versa. Paul VI drew inferences from the doctrine saying “We too, more than all others, have the cult of man”. That is why the church and not individuals is supreme. The Church has always issued it’s concerns throrgh the pastoral letter. Today there is departure form this thus in a long time we hear divergent views from Priests of the same faith. Clearly this is because Politics have come to our church!!!!
Reverend how come you have kept quiet about gold dealer Dan Pule? he has married and remarried but you have kept quiet. You seem to focus your attention on business rather than the word of God, are you a business man or a preacher? Finally how do you expect Zambians to participate in the economy of the country if mines are being sold to Indians and Chinese, ZAMTEL to God knows who. The only way Zambians will participate meaningfully is by red carding MMD and bring in a Pro Zambia Govt
well i think the church should not be in the forefront pointing fingers they are meant to guide but anyway this is what society has become when people agree to want the preaching of the church adjusted to mordern time
# 15 besides being priests , they are also human with rights. Thats is why the Catholic church has endevoured to build Schools, Clinics,ETC because it understands that praying alone wont help much, we are humans and we need immediate help. # 14, if the prson who decided to go to Nigeria was Catholic, he should have gone to a Catholic hospital and got ARV’s. It is simple common sense
~X(~X(~X(~X(~X(~X(
Tiye Tiye Copperbelt we are behind you.
i am surpirzed that the entire Mutentwa who i know as one of the educated police officers can ask his boys to go and arrest one person becoz of a simple card. why not warn him first and then if he continues then they arrest him? this so called rev also, he is just broke and he thinks by passing these comments he will receive a brown envelope or his church will be visited by the MMD ‘chaplain’ Shikapwasha and give him a promisory note. live the catholics alone remember a church is an institution and an institution is comprises of different kinds of people with different charactors and different thinking capacities. so just continue running your small kantemba church.
Ba masupa whatever you r called.The natural resourses you are talking abt is abundant in zed indeed but pipo arent benefiting anything apart fm seeing others loot them and leave us wt potholes on the roads and employ pipo they pay 800pin coz they are afraid of payin taxes.The catholic church has skuz,hospitals and many otherthings.The food basket thing is done buy them and not CSO so their knowledge on many issues in the country is jst wide.Incase you didnt know they r in every conner of the country.Where else is your ka church is and tell the nation what you r doing,dont jst yap!yap!….
Keep it up Fr Bwalya! We need more Zambians like you with civil courage. Infact, more churches should get involved. Almost every Zambian goes to church, even the illiterate ones. So, why not teach the people about the certain things, e.g, the election process, even about AIDS in churches. I’m not a Catholic myself, but I find what the Catholics are doing, quite impressive. The churches in Zambia should be playing a big rolle in most of the activities taking place. Isn’t Zambia a christian nation?
Oh dear mother Zambia.
The “police force” we have now are a problem. They always provoke situations. Let them be reminded together with their Government that the UNIP days are long gone. We are not going to be intimidated anymore. Long live father bwalya and the Zambian people fighting for change! Red card to Kabonde and his small gods!
#1 YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD TO WASTE
this # 1 guy chipuba, umukulu wonse apa pelele, na maso ala beya
Does stoning your poor brother’s car and little shop along the corridor amount to freedom fight?
Is that what “father” Bwalya is up to by attempting to incite the ignorant masses? Obviously he knew that he would achieve maximum effect and mayhem by doing what he did at the Youth Day rally. Much like the strategies of suicide bombers of the radical moslems. Maybe “father” Bwalya also believes that it is the way to enter the Kingdom of God heaven. Talk about satanists enjoying a blood bath, this must be it. There cannot be a true priest like that, these must be pretenders, with Telesphore of course!.