Patriotic Front (PF) Acting Secretary General Nickson Chilangwa has said that the reported harassment of Zambia National Team football player Stopilla Sunzu’s family on account of being suspected to be foreigners by what he described as the United Party for National Development (UPND) government security wings makes sad reading.
In a statement released to the media, Mr Chilangwa said wondered how ungrateful can we be as Zambians today to try and alienate Sunzu from his own country even after his achievements for Chipolopolo.
“Is it not Sunzu who scored the penalty that made Zambia win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 for the first time since we gained independence? Today the hero is now Congolese,” he asked
Mr. Chilanga said that Sunzu like Christopher Katongo and the other active and former players deserve respect from all of Zambians including those in government today, adding that fighting our national heroes is fighting all of us.
Mr Chilanga said that the party will continue celebrating Sunzu and all his colleagues who brought honour to Zambia and called upon the UPND government to apologize to the Sunzu family without delay as this single act of miscalculation has the potential to polarize the nation even more.
“We remind the UPND government that such senseless antics have a potential to even make Zambia lose the Africa Cup we won almost 10 years ago should Ivory Coast appeal with FIFA, ” he said.
Reports are that the Immigration Department has recorded a statement from former Chipolopolo defender, Stopilla Sunzu’s father, Felix Sunzu.
This is after Mr Sunzu, together with 5 members of his household, was picked by the immigration officers after he failed to produce documentation to prove his legal immigration status.
Department Spokesperson, NAMATI Nshinka has confirmed this in a statement availed to the media saying that Mr. Sunzu was among 20 people apprehended yesterday, in Chililabombwe on the Copperbelt, during a routine clean up exercise undertaken by the Immigration Department.
Mr Nshinka said that Mr. Sunzu and the 5 members of his household were taken to Chilalabombwe Police Station for screening, shortly after which they were released, upon production of the requisite documents.
Below is the full statement
That is why Iam telling you upnd will only rule for a term. Balitumpa sana ba shetani aba ba upnd.
Even if he is Congolese, he has done more for Zambia than some of these useless people. Mupaseni paper atase. You fail to remove those foreign spies called missionaries but busy targeting your own brothers and sisters. have you no shame?
Future zed that is what happens when people vote in an unpatriotic bunch of imperialist pleasers. The whlte man controls them and they bend over backwards for them
What is Congolese? And what is Zambian? Something the white man defined for you has now become your identity. Africans! Seeing the economic colonisation China is subjecting you to, very soon you will divide yourselves into Pro-China Africa and Anti-China Africa and create identiifying characteristcs to go with this.
Indeed this is a party of evils and ungrateful people. Just because the sunzus rented a house to ECL they have to suffer at the hands of vengeful and unrepentant humans….God, what did we do wrong…did we sin by voting for this part sure, its just months , just months citizens already feel as if the party has been in power for years
This where the Govt Spokeswoman swiftly responds and refers matters to the Immigration Dept and cites that Govt does not comment on individual cases…but she is not quick enough to think on her feet!
but why do so in the early hours of the morning-meaning he was targeted-
This is unacceptable. His son is Zambian so give his father who is dependent on him the necessary papers.
And what if he is Congolese and he chooses to be Zambian….what’s wrong with that? You would rather have Chinese or Muzungu call himself Zambian and you get excited….Shishuwa Shishuwa was so happy because Andrew Sadanis was calling himself Zambian….but I don’t think he would be happy if a Senegalese calls himself Zambian
@2 Future Zed
UPND has lost direction…now they’re trying hard to be rubble rousers as if they’re in opposition…just to divert attention from their failures….useless liars…Zambians have regretted voting for these morons
That is the problem with most of you, you don’t read, instead, run to comment. You live in denial !!!
WHO SAID THAT SUNZU HAS BEEN DENIED ZAMBIAN CITIZENSHIP ?? The issue is that he FAILED TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF, HE HAD NO DOCUMENTS.
Even yourself, IMAGINE YOU WERE IN SUNZU`s SHOES, AND POLICE KNOCKED AT YOUR DOOR, AND YOU FAIL TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF, HOW WILL YOU BE TREATED? YOU WILL BE TAKEN TO THE POLICE. YES, HE HAS CONTRIBUTED TO ZAMBIA AND NO ONE REFUTES THAT. BUT THE LAW REQUIRES YOU TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF BASED ON LEGAL DOCUMENTS. How do you know the Security Officers knew who this Sunzu was, remember they were 20 people involved.
O behlld, the Guy Scott Slayers have grown Angels’ Wings…??
The pf is still behaving and like they used to. The New Deal Govt agencies are free from working under instructions from state house, That is how you were allowed to demonstrate even though the same Public order act you abused is still in effect. Aren’t you ashamed?
The Immigration dept was just performing it’s duties. This is contained in their explanation , If Mr.Sunzu did not have valid papers at that time, what does the law say concerning that? The dept did not go specifically for Mr.Sunzu to embassaa Stopilla Sunzu.
wai wen – Immigration Depts and Security Wings do their raids in the early mornings that’s the best time to get their people off guard…HM Home Office in England are very good at this ask your colleagues who have been deported
With all illegal aliens, some with fake papers roaming the streets, they target a hero’s father? Thats a pity. But i also understand that immigration have got yo do their job. Please start by cleaning up your own dept who have issued fake work permits and citizenship to ineligible foreigners with no legal standing. If immigration did their job, over 100,000 jobs could created for Zambians overnight.
.
When KZ is deported back to Zambia, would you blame Boris Johnson or KZ for not having papers? Would he go to his local conservative club and blame them?
So does it mean if you are a upnd supporter, you support things even if they don’t make sense?
You raid a senior citizen of fixed abode at 01 hrs in the morning and start asking him about a tenancy agreement for his son’s property and the raid is supposedly about an immigration issue?
What kind of nonsense is that? New dawn indeed!
UPND, INSONU EBUNTU
In the 1990s after the disbanding of the ZR sponsored Railway Express, Sunzu and a band of other players headed for Chililabombwe, with Musole Sakulanda dropping off somewhere in Kitwe. We knew their origins but we allowed them to settle here and contribute to our football. Why have they suddenly become enemies of the state? Is it because former president is renting a house owned by one of these people? If it’s because of this what is stopping you from getting directly at the former president?
Those talking about Guy Scott are as ignorant as a chicken in the middle of an ocean. Dr Scott was not prevented by the PF form becoming president of the Republic of ZAMBIA. The Constitution is very specific on who becomes the president of our country. Even Dr Kenneth Kaunda was barred from standing.
So Sitopila is a foreigner? So Zambia featured a foreigner in the 2012 Afcon finals? What does FIFA say about featuring illegible players? So the cup must be surrendered to the Ivory Coast?
If you go to a country illegally and have children this is the status
1. You have not naturalized your self or do not have permanent residence in the country….. then you are ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT (ypu can be a professor or a great footballer that does not change anything)
2. Your kids are not illegal and are citizens of Zambia
NO DRAMA
Those who are old enough will remember the likes of Tshikala Mwanza, Alex Chola, Kaushi Kaodi, etc. These players were believed to be Congolese but feature for the K.K 11
Is Felix Nsunzu equal to Stopilla Nsunzu?
Nothing new. That is what you goons did to KK after he had been your President for 27-effing-years. Ma jealousy cabe bene Zambia ni so tambe mwana wa amai. You want ECL just go there. Stop harassing people. Elo vima ID vimene ivo that is a colonial legacy. Haven’t you noticed how opposed Europeans are against having IDs of any kind. They only get ma passport. The rest ni ma Birth Certificate and where necessary naturalization docx in record. Vawupuwa. Ati New Dawn. Kuzaila!
It is just mind-boggling. Considering what Stoppilla Sunzu has achieved as a Zambian, we should have been thinking of granting his dad, Mr Felix Sunzu, permanent residence status and not going to harass him and his family in the night because his son rents his property to former President ECL. What is wrong with us Africans? We give permanent residency to a French man and former Chipolopolo coach, Herve Renard, but we are not able to extend the same recognition given to Renard for helping us win the AFCON to the Father and family to Stopilla Sunzu who was part of the AFCON winning team and successfully converted the winning penalty? The search of Mr. Felix Sunzu’s home is a delicate issue that should have been handled with extreme care instead of trying to publicly humiliate the Sunzu…
… family by conducting a search on them in the night as if they are known criminals. There are so many Zambians today with relatives in the DRC partly due to the artificially drawn colonial boundaries. Some Congolese living along the border with Zambia have chosen to make Zambia their home and work here. We have cases of former footballers Kaushi Kaodi and Alex Chola who were part of the KK XI and even some lecturers who have taught at UNZA. It is also possible, as some people have suggested, that even Youth and Sports minister Hon Elvis Nkandu may hail from just across the border with the DRC.
We even had a President who was born in the DRC. All our borders are not drawn by us!
#27 Observer…They could have simply gone there during the day if there was anything that they wanted to find out.
@Deja Vu
It does not matter that some Zambians could have gone there. But there is also the case of Zambians in Luapula and Northern Provinces that are able to trace their roots in the DRC. We see something similar for easterners, particularly from the border with Malawi. I say so because there are so many people we call Zambians today whose parents or forefathers hailed from neighbouring countries. Talk about the Namwangas or Lungus of Northern province. There are those alive today who can trace their roots to Tanzania. There are Namwangas in Tanzania just as there are Namwangas in Zambia. A Congolese colleague told me of a part of the Congo where you find Bemba speakers away from the boundary with Zambia.
Why didn’t you ask for Sunsu’s papers when you were putting him in the 2012 AFCON Chipoloplo team? why now? Please don’t embarrass us, where have you been all this time ba immigration? These boundaries were put by your colonial masters who were solely bent to divide and rule us. Give them all the necessary papers without delay and please concentrate on fulfilling your promises made to the Zambian people. One Zambia one nation. God bless Zambia!
@the observer ,
ale bane mulebelenga bwino, ” Patriotic Front (PF) Acting Secretary General Nickson Chilangwa has said that the reported harassment of Zambia National Team football player Stopilla Sunzu’s family”
The story is about FELIX SUNZU, its NOT about Stopilla Sunzu !!!! AND IF THE MAN DID NOT HAVE THE DOCUMENTS TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF, IT WAS ONLY RIGHT FOR THE POLICE TO TAKE HIM ON. IT DOESNT MATTER WHETHER Stopilla Sunzu SCORED A PENALTY DURING AFRICAN CUP, THAT IS IRRELEVANT. THE FACT IS THAT FELIX HAD NO ID DOCUMENT. PERIOD.
@General kanene
Read what Isaacher at 17 has written and what is coming through from what has been reported was asked of Felix Sunzu, father to Stopilla to understand why this whole issue is worrisome:
“You raid a senior citizen of fixed abode at 01 hrs in the morning and start asking him about a tenancy agreement for his son’s property and the raid is supposedly about an immigration issue?”. The immigration department is trying to use the clean up operation for illegal immigrants as a cover-up for a search for a tenancy agreement for Stopilla Sunzu’s property which is rented by one ECL. Do not just take things on face value!
On Dec 14, 2021, the following was reported:
Footballer, Stoppilla Sunzu’s father was yesterday reportedly quizzed by investigative wings over the tenancy agreement he has entered in with former republican president Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
A source close to the family told the Daily Nation that Mr Felix Sunzu was surprised to receive a delegation of officers from the security wings who wanted to know the terms in the tenancy agreement between his son and the former president.
Mr Sunzu, who stays in Chililabombwe, could however not help the officers because he was not the landlord.
“He told them, he was not the owner of that house. That his son, who is the owner of the house will be in the country anytime this week and he will be the right person to answer such questions,’’ he said…
Former president lungu moved into Sunzu’s house after leaving State House following his loss in the August 12 elections.
Under the Zambian constitution accommodation of the former president is supposed to be provided by Government.
Mr Lungu, who is also PF president, is expected to hand over power to a successor in June at an extraordinary congress.
The former president has made it clear that he would retire once he hands over to a successor to be chosen by the members.
The Patriotic Front has been engulfed in a power struggle following Mr Lungu’s announcement that he would retire from politics.- Daily Nation
Alex Chola was actually born in Lubumbashi in the then Belgian Congo in 1956….
That’s why Zambian are always behind cause of everything immigrations we’re supposed to be working on the borders not inside the country we are really getting tired of this Zambian behavior stop treating Congolese people like a peace of trash in your country cause we have Zambians in Congo to but we don’t treat them you treat us