Government has expressed shock at the death of twenty six people comprising of pupils and teachers from Henga School in Gwembe have perished after their boat capsized on Lake Kariba in Gwembe district on Thursday night.
Government has since dispatched Zambia army and Zambia police divers to Lake Kariba to help retrieve the bodies.
Chief Government Spokesperson Joseph Katema has told QFM News in a statement that the death of the 26 people most of them youths is difficult to bear.
Dr Katema says government is even more disturbed that the pupils and their teachers were travelling to be part of the jubilee celebrations at a school across the lake.
Dr. Katema says the death of the pupils is disheartening more because they were travelling for a noble and national cause.
Chief Government Spokesperson has since described the deceased as “true heroes” of the land.
Dr Katema says the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) under the Office of the Vice President has also dispatched officers to Gwembe including coordinator Patrick Kangwa.
He says Government is putting in all measures to ensure that all bodies are retrieved.
Meanwhile, the opposition Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD) youths have learnt the death of the people in Gwembe with sadness.
MMD Die Hard National Youth Coordinator Bowman Lusambo has told QFM News that the hearts of the MMD members go out to the families of victims of the Lake Kariba disaster.
Mr. Lusambo says it is the prayer of the people of Zambia that God will comfort their families and strengthen their faith as they mourn the departed young souls.
HH should be made accountable for this loss.
I am really pained by ths disaster….!!!
Please GOVT Assist the families financially.
I cant bare this awful incident. Those were of VERY TENDER age……!!
Let ‘one man-Sata die for all’ and the money meant for Medical bills can be spent on suffering Zambians.
CNP Priority. we continue losing lives coz we have no direction s a country. What a shame.
so akabwato kali isula over!!
SO AKALI BOTI KALIISULA OVER
Step one – Any water transport that ferries the public must be registered.
Step two – all public ferries must be mandated to have life vents on board.
Step three – Public must be educated to request to see the vents before they board.
These measures will reduce the number of lives lost.
Usual naivety of PF government because this tragedy has involved non Bembas reaction from government is unbelievably dismal and late. Three days after accident government DMMU makes some political statement, what a pack of usual lies.
UPND president immediately dispatched goods and food to alleviate the affected families. He even travelled to Lake Kariba to see how best to help. This is leadership that responds appropriately as situation demands.
PF should begin to provide national leadership and stop mourning about votes as a pre requisite to serve Zambians irrespective of who they are.
@Aquilla, I believe you are really hurt. Here is the thing. A person is ill, very few people visit or bother to know. That person dies and there is a mad rush to arrive at the funeral before burial, mourners outdoing each other with the size of the wreath that they will place on the grave, etc. In short, what I would love to hear as a pragmatist is what was there before (including what the area MP did to address this) and what it is now we should do. I think pulling out the tribal card at this stage is just lame… with due respect.
May their souls rest in peace. Very sad indeed.
There was some illuminates from the pf bembas government who decided to suck blood from the poor Monze pupils.They want to kill some more Lozi & Tonga school pupils, so please none-bembas Zambians bewere.
Friendly warning.
Kariba dam is connected to the Zambezi river and anyone who has ridden on a boat on this lake knows the number of hippos and crocodiles that infest this river. Finding all the bodies will not be easy and for sure I do feel for the parents and join them in mourning the loss of their beloved ones. Until a body gets bloated with water it will not float. This Jubilee thing kaleza yatiletelela yet we are not free to even use our real names on blogs for fear of the authorities. Seriously what has changed between when UNIP was in power and now? Poor fellas perhaps they were promised some bread and mazoe like they used to treat us on Independence Day so for them it was a do or die event to attend.
“Government has expressed shock at the death of twenty six people comprising of pupils and teachers from Henga School in Gwembe have perished after their boat capsized on Lake Kariba…”
THE ABOVE IS A JOKE/RHETORIC. SINCE WHEN DID THE GRZ ENACT OR ENFORCE A LAW TO MAKE IT COMPULSORY TO WEAR A LIFE JACKET ON A BOAT? SINCE WHEN DID GRZ INSTAL BOUYANTS ON WATERWAYS ON LAKES AND RIVERS? HOW CAN ANY NORMAL PERSON TRY TO TRANSPORT SCHOOL CHILDREN AND THEIR TEACHERS ACROSS THE LAKE WITHOUT SAFETY FACILITIES? AND HOW CAN TEACHERS THEMSELVES AGREE TO UNSAFE TRANSPORT? 50YRS OF INDEPENDENCE- THESE ARE JUST BASICS. WHO ‘LL BE RESPONSIBLE, ANYWAY?
Fellow country men, pointing figures at who is wrong in the face of a tragedy has never, can never, will never defeat adversity. When there is a problem, maturity calls for attacking the problem and not individuals. The least we can do is find answers to questions like: how do we deal with the current situation? What preventive measures can be taken in future to avert or mitigate a loss of such incidence?