Vice President George Kunda says security agencies acted professionally to prevent loss of lives and property when some Barotseland activists rioted in Mongu last month.
And Mr Kunda says there is no justification for calls to dismiss Home Affairs Minister Mkhondo Lungu and Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde following the recent unrest in Mongu and some parts of Western province.
The Vice President said this when he issued a statement about the recent riots in Mongu in Parliament this morning.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Amusaa Mwanamwambwa on Tuesday directed the Vice President to issue a statement over the death of two people in riots in Mongu.
This was after Luena MP, Charles Milupi rose on a point of order, over government’s silence about the recent unrest in MONGU.
Mr KUNDA explained that police had NO choice but to use reasonable force to protect life and property.
He said the Barotseland activists kept charging on the police despite warning shots fired in the air, putting the lives of the officers at risk.
And the Vice President said paramilitary officers deployed in MONGU will NOT be withdrawn in a bid to sustain law and order in the area.
He said people in Western province are happy with the security measures that government has put in place.
Twenty two people are facing treason charges over the riots that erupted in Mongu over the Barotse agreement of 1964.
[ZNBC]
this is all silly n nonsensical..how do you act professionally by killing ?time will tell n haunts will come upon you..
Am sure the Veep is in support of the mass killings happening in the arab world.he thinks gadafi’s mercenaries are acting proffesionally. the veep is the real cobra and not the pf leader. he’l do anything to cling to power, including lying (chiluba londo case). its hard ot believe him. once beaten twice shy!!!!!!!!
We are not happy with the security police officers here, there is nothing there have been doing here apart from itimidating us. the guy they short and later accused him of having had a burning tire is all about lies. He had nothing that could manufacture fire on his body. these pipo were just peacfully protesting and resorted to rioting after seeing their friend short by the police. Twenty two people who were facing treason charges over the riots that erupted in Mongu over the Barotse agreement of 1964 have been released .
Only a twit can think like Kunda, how can you call killing professional? You mean police cannot make use of rubber bullets? What kind of animal are u to think careless on those people who died?
George kundal is a foool !!!!!!!…./We are regrouping agen…and this tym it will massive and dangerous crack down…..
That is total lies. Cops acted professionally by using live amo to sort out pipo who were expressing themselves over an issue that has been hanging in the air for a lon time. That is unreasonableness. Veep GK as a Catholic and SC should be bold enough and accept Govt’s failure on how it handled the issue. Who thought Mubrak or Col Murmer Chadaf will face the masses protest. GK should not pretend all is well and take pipo for granted.Internal National peace is not guaranteed by a heavily armed security structure but by the will of the masses co-operating with those they have puty in public office. Once the masses confidence is eroded no amount of threats or use of military force will stop pipo to demand change and it happens.I expect our leaders to lead the flock and not to become masters.
THIS DAYS LUSAKA TIMES IS NOW A COPY AND PASTE OF TIMES OF ZAMBIA, ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL AND ZNBC. THIS IS WHAT WE CALL LAZINESS IN JOURNALISM OR ARM CHAIR JOURNALISM. YOU ARE NOW AS BAD AS ZAMBIAN WATCHDOG.
Ok the voters shall also act professionaly
The red leap kunda is a silly man suppose those were is family members or his son or daughter washe going to say this i wish SATA can be president and arrest all this foolish men thev feel how other feel what was he going to do that most stupid vice p anyway soon he will live the office!
Thanks to LT for giving us news update. Some of your critics have done nothin in life part from being proffesional critics. They ve even stopped buyin news papers in preference to online free news
May God place a case on those who killed those young men on their families and their generations to come!
No. 3 That is a pipos victory the remaining treason suspects being released. Its sweep victory. Who ever slapped them with treason charge should be charged as well. Pipo entrusted with public office should not be acting on immmpulse to make stupid decisions. Wait with the passage of time those chaps have been made prominent by careless public officers who thought of impressing their masters even when they themselves were not willing to act in such manner.Killing innocent lives as though they killing chickens at Savage restaurant at Soweto Market. Those who kill in the name of the state should draw a good lesson from events taking place in the Arab World and Zambia is not island. Those investors who are stealing our natural resources will not there when pipo demand change. WATCH OUT
Senseless politician just pay back tax payers cash you misused to go to london to follow up FTJ corruption cases only to abandon the cause just because levy past on. rubbish leadership. I PRAY you catch both type 1 and 2 HIV viral strain or the latest one with a previously unseen strain of HIV that is resistant to three of the four types of anti-viral drugs that combat the disease, and progresses from infection to full-blown AIDS in two or three months
# 10. the news on LT is not really News(copy n paste).we would have already red it somwhere else. we only got here for blogging sake.
#2
Editor- Actually these MMD thugs are praying that Ghaddafi wins so that no body will dare try the Egypt System here.
If GOD has permited the exist of MMD they will make all sorts of mistakes without knowing until after a wrong has been done. Even the best decisions they will boast about will turn against them. The outcome will not be what they wanted.
Stealing public funds was legalised,now killing protesters has also been legalised by MMD imbeciles. Expecting justice from MMD is actually expecting too much from them. To MMD killing and wounding Lozis is acting professionally. Anyway, since they say Western Province is their fish pond for votes maybe that what Lozis want.
I think civilised pipo would have not gone ahead with a demonstration(whether peaciful or not) if a permit has not been given. They barotse groups are not above the law and they should be ready for any consequences for their unlawful behaviour. It is not true that the police killed an innocent unarmed life. Milupi is merely politiking as he has attested at a radio station that he was attacked in mongu when he wanted to address a rally. They actually attacked their fellow lozi(milupi), how would they have acted on non lozi police officers? Sata is even scared of stepping a foot in Mongu.
Does this man really have a brain, conscience and other human faculties that allow us to distinguish good from bad?
Thank Kunda for showing how stupid foolish you are. Hope you will manage whats comes next or else. I m sure you are in support of Ghadafi in libya if you say killing is professional.
NO 18, OBJECTIVE
if these people were armed why is it that there has been no reports of police casualties, why is that there is no death recorded for Police officers? If anything, there were more civilians that your officers.
GK speaks on behalf of RB and MMD govt. This is their collective stance. No regrets even after RB’s meeting with a delegation from BRE. The Libyan example of Pro-Activists in govt resigning should now be seen taking place for all MMD sympathisers in W/Province. GK says the MMD is justified to kill and physically injure anybody as long as they are from W/Province. What an insult to Lozis. VOTE WISELY !
Our undergraduates revealed that the police acted professionally otherwise more lives would have been lost.
Chi Jackal, uli ichipuba but lero walandako fya mano. You are a zombie.
Atase! Chi-Vice President! How can you defend killing! Can somebody please be advising these guys how to explain things instead of suing inflamatory language. Let’s see how the Barotse will vote. The only big shame is that fi-opposition nomba mafi ashelepo! Abena Sata and Ho-Ho bale tupwishishafye snhita, tapalki efyo bali! They are time wasters. I now understand why Sata has never won Presidential elections and why HH has been blundering from the start. RB will win this year not because he is popular, but because the Opposition m.a.t.o.l.e!!!
Alipukuta
Fuulish analysis # 2. Thanks Mr. VEEP. Next time the police must be swift and decisive in kicking the hell out of the misinformed chaps agitating for anarchy and confusion in Zambia. They should kick out the crap and artificial facts those chaps are implanting in peace loving Zambians and the misled tribalists of that region.
Killing? Only 2? They were even lucky!
In other countries treason matters more people die. Yes Mr. VEEP the guys must thank their stars.
#2 trying thinking next time
Kunda is bemba right????? thus why he sucks!!!!! bembas suck !!! we need to start eliminating them one by one…..its long journey and becaful cz loziz aint creatures to play around with….one day it will b more than what you saw. some leaders deserve a live gun bullet in their foolish and stupid heads.
#31 uli chiyongoli chikamba!! Be focused, what is it that you want cessation, elimination of bembas or a fair share of the economic cake? Think logically and realistically, you might even find that bembas and all other zambians are your allies. Fact is, we need Baroste agreements for each and every province for proper accountability of natural resources plundered from the rural population. Zambia is not only Lusaka, and its not a tribal thing but a human dignity issue and justice has to prevail!
The editor#14 Tell us what you have done yourself in life thats captures attention or start up a better free on line news. Let us learn to encourage than the BRING DOWN ZAMBIA SYNDROM.
Me i think Lt is gives us a platform to debate news items.
You have all heard for yourselves. We have a government that can kill you and then deny it in the very same minute. We are all at risk – tomorrow it will be you. Those who vote for murders will be guilty of accessory to murder.
ZP did what had to be done.Zed has to be protected from both internal and external threats.Those chaps had never even seen the agreement nor would they have understood what it meant.
Viva GK.
I have seen very few cases of police acting “professionally” in the face of demostrations, sadly not in Zambia.
Next time bring the Red Beret from Ndola and let them eliminate more than 2 people. #12 MY MASTER”S VOICE;& fake #13 OCTOPUS PAUL BWALYA; #6MY MASTER”S VOICE; ,#21 Mongu; Observer #35 Vasco da Banda more will die stoolpid manyukukukus if you choose to destroy Zambia.
The police must be commended for a professional act. Next time involve ZNDF too.
It’s a shame and it is regrettable that two people lost their lives due to the carelessness of the organisers of the gatherings of 14th January. The organisers made the mistake of issuing threats to non Lozi in Western Province by distributing flyers stating just that. They also made the mistake of calling for gatherings when the Police had refused them a permit. The organisers had options of first not making threats to other innocent citizens whose alleged crime was to hold a different view regarding the BA64. The organisers had the option of either putting in an appeal for the refusal to issue a permit or to postpone the gathering to another date to enable them get a permit from the police.
If I am planning to hold a non violent gathering those are the options I would have opted for.
The main issue though is the BA64 document itself, is it legal, was it done in good faith and who stands to benefit from it, is it inclusive or is it just meant to cater for all those who consider themselves to be Lozi? Where does the BA64 leave the other tribes in Western Province who are native to the province but do not support the document? Does Barotseland exist and on what basis, where are its bounders outlined and are the said bounders if they exist at all, agreeable by all ethnic groups in the Province or are the just imaginary and based on the BRE’s wishes?
Why didn’t the British colonial government support the establishment of a state based on the BRE’s wishes before 1964? Why were other ethnic groups not represented during the signing ceremony of such agreements since they were stakeholders in the province and the said document would affect them? These are just some of the questions I challenge any BA64 supporter to answer objectively without resorting to insults.
For these killings and the Chiluba case he took to London, Kunda will sooner than later be called to account.
Anyway, the most likely case is that he will kick the bucket before he is accorded a chance to exculpate himself from all the sins he has committed against this nation.
# 38. It will be very foolish of you to even dream that the people will face the police with stones next time around after what happened. Next time it will be an eye for an eye and we all know how your so called best red berets faired against Foday Sankoh’s Revolutionary United Front when he captured 280 of them in 2000 in broad day light, while armed. It was also shameful how you tucked your tail clean over your stinking backside when Santos threatened to overrun you for supporting Savimbi. So, stop kulimonesha ta ba kolwe fye imwe, alah!
#45 You surely are not serious with your post because there is no way you can say that out of the 280 Zambian soldiers as you have put it, there was not one Lozi among them? And you obviously know that if Santos had attacked Zambia, Western Province would have been the number one target. Almost the entire Province would have been filled with landmines, disfigured people, lots of arms, displaced people and outright hopelessness and unimaginable hardships, think carefully about that.
In fact some ‘well known Lozis’ apparently worked with some ‘high Zambian political figures’ to supply arms to the rebels in that country so clearly Western Province would have been the primary target.
We peace loving Zambians are so grateful that none of that happened. Let us not preach war because if it came some of you would regret having even just thought about it. Having known people from war torn countries, even I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy because there is nothing good about it, peace is everything and as a country we should do whatever it takes to make sure that we don’t lose what is probably our most prized asset as a country.
Manyukunyukukuku South African chap 43-45!
Sata will win this year if only my mbuyaz in sesheke/ western province can vote for milupi. In 2008 mmd won because of the lozi people. I hope these wounded lozi won’t vote for mmd. Vote for milupi and sata will stand a chance to clobber mmd.
I know this is another propaganda. RB will come during the ceremony and fire kabonde and move the minister of home affairs. So that my mbuyazi will be like trigger happy to vote for mmd/ rb.mark my words. I know the propaganda of zed politics. Don’t u remember the sell of houses which gave zadeco no chance to win!
Rb will say I heed what the people have said and I have decided on behalf of the people or in the best interest of the people to fire kabonde. I have moved the minister of home affairs to …… As deputy. Mark my words.
KUNDA WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE ARRESTED AND TAKEN TO THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE FOR SUPPORTING CORRUPTION AND DESTROYING INSTITUTION THAT FIGHT CORRUPTION IN ZAMBIA.
Chi # 31, don’t be fooooolish in your analysis. What have bembas done? Don’t you that most of us Bembas are in support of the (agreement. Don’t you know chi Kunda has admitted to first degree broad day light murder? I understand now about the shootings in Sinazongwe. The chinese acted professionally. Thia govt has shown that they don’t respect human rights. Zambians rise against these monsters especially RBish and GK. We want power to the people.
useless vice president,u will pay for that u thnk zambians ar happy?
KATUYA NOBASANKWA.kunda de bible sayz thou show nt kill ed u ar killing.i kno tht my God is nt happy fo tht,fo sure u wil pay fo tht.
police acted professionally when they shot dead a man who allegedly wanted to set a filling station ablaze.if they dint take that one out, how many more lives would have died.dont just say things yoyu know nothing about.
You people Kunda was not there as well……..the guy was killed and hes resting peacefully where ever he is.The police used live shots on an innocent person, MHSRIP and someone still need to answer that question
55// Tonga Bull,
You have a point. Its sad to see a christian nation where there is no compassion even for the dead. They swear using the bible and kill unemployed youths using the gun, just because they are reminded there are no jobs and poverty is unbearable. May Jesus receive the souls of our dead brothers with mercy, as we pray in his dear name. My Lord Jesus you died for our brothers in Mongu and they do not have to die for themselves to have a better life. I know Lord God you are mourning with us. Till we meet them in Heaven, Amen.
# 18 an idot. I wish one of those who died was your relative. Lear to think with your brain not your A.N.U.S.
Give me a gun and one of Kunda’s son/daughter and we will call it even.
I am not a fun of George Kunda and I do not support what he does, however anyone who tries to bring down the Zambian flag while waving machattes in order to replace it with some Barotseland flag deserves whatever gets to him. These were not peaceful demonstrators but criminals that wanted to claim autonomy when the constitution does not allow.
The police had to act otherwise these people would have taken the law into their own hands!
#61 you win the day for me. But I may add that critics of Mr Kunda are targetting the wrong person. The government reacted well and prevented more loss of lives. The people that should have been criticised before the riots even started were those politicians and media organisations who were stoking the ambers of fire by issuing inflammatory statements in the vain hope of gaining political mileage, they are the people with blood on their hands and you all know who they are.
.
Countless times the government has warned us of the dangers of destroying our peace, prevention is better than cure. We have no ears but we manage to listen to politicians with selfish motives. Let’s talk peace, then we will never regret loss of lives. Where were these headless critics when those criminals were threatening to kill all non-lozis in Mongu? Would it have satisfied these blood thirsty critics if genocide had taken place against all our non-lozi brothers and sisters in that area if government had not acted swiftly?
We have no time for Draculas in Zambia, period.
Twitter, the day you find a gun, call me. Il b more than willing to let you take my life, be my guest. However, you better bring extra ammunition with you.