Eight Zambian truck drivers conducting business in Botswana were Monday detained by police in Francistown.
One of the affected drivers, Bernard Chisole, of Livingstone said the move has been perpetuated by Botswana truck drivers, who accuse Zambian drivers of giving them unfair business competition.
Mr Chisole said the Zambian drivers were detained for eight hours before five of them could be released leaving the other three in custody.
He said the rest of the drivers were given a police escort out of Francistown leaving Zambian businesswomen stranded.
Mr Chisole said truck drivers in Botswana feel that Zambian truck drivers were making more business in that country and they have since resorted to using the police to ensure that all buiness women doing business there use local trucks.
He said the three Zambian truck drivers, who remained in detention, could appear in court.
And United Nations Centre for Human Rights Secretary General, Patrick Kasoka, said there was no law that prescribes the mode of transport a person could use.
He condemned the detention of Zambian drivers in the neighbouring country and noted that if any country has to detain a foreigner, authorities in the country of origin should be informed within 48 hours.
Mr Kasoka said the offence charged must also be explained according to the universal law of the United Nations.
“This is a human rights violation. There is no law that would force someone to use a particular truck because a particular truck does not belong to Botswana,” he said.
“We are questioning the merit of such detention by Botswana government and we are asking our government to intervene,” he said.
Xenophobic coming to Botswana now!!These chaps have a chicken like memory!we are now slaves to them after educating them.we shall see what we will do as well!!
malabishi.how can you take some1 to court for being better than you?that doesnt make sense.Africa will never develop if these petty jelousies persist
i told you from south africa to bu tswana(botswana), isn’t anyone listening. Zambians are like indians in zambia, pests! like nigerians in america pests! you are everywhere it stinks.
stay where u belong it stinks.
no ngwee, kanshi chimbwi will never learn that a country with no currency is as gud as dead hahahha
awe mwandini mule nyenga na fye all day instead of improving your economy n stop looking ridiculous, it disgusting mabene
ala mwandini beggars will always be beggars
Proud South African (#3), you reasoning less than that of a Zambian Child. The drivers are doing better than the Tswanas! Does that sound like they ae begging?
And in case you didn’t know, you rand is falling. You are just prod for nothing. you can’t even notice the economic trends in your own country. South Africa has this year recorded the lowest revenue in five years. Should the whites leave SA you guys will be serious trouble.
And what makes you think South African are not everywhere? on Sunday I went to one of the Shoping malls in Lusaka and found a South African woman working in the parcels section.
NO.3 Shut up!!!! and grow up man.you are too ignorant for this blog.
It is quite ironic that feelings of Xenophobia are growing among many nations at a time when the world is going towards globalization. Is Africa ready for the United States of Africa?
I am proud to be zambian we are the envy of a lot of nations in southern and eastern africa its like other countries see us as the next big thing or maybe its because we do it like ba kolwe with their wives either way ziko yamutendere…….. nyevu nyevu matako mwana mpaka nayo fullu paku nyamuka yeve njenje njenje sure mayi ayitaya dziko yamutendere…..
ya africans our brains maybe r really small or we r using an abnormaly low percentage of our minds coz honestly, u arrest pipo for ‘stealing business’ awe shuwa then maybe mr Banda or phiri should sue shoprite for stealing his tomatoe selling business” hehehee its simply rydicyulusssi!
# 3 Yu mind is poisonous, bwoy! You mek I man vex to de max! You really sure you Black? Fool, join de KuKlaxKlan. How can you love yuhself when you seh such tings ’bout black people? De same hate you carry go kill you! And yu walking dead already!
Zambians have been too kind and nice for too long and people are taking it as a weakness! Push us too far and we’ll come at you like a tone of bricks! We seem to be the only unselfish nation around with clear conscious and vision for the continent. It’s time we start getting a bit selfish and start the made in Zambia for Zambia brand!
#3 you’re a racist fool
#3, chimutu, onani vi menso monga upambuka local bun!! Chimbwi, pamenso monga imbwa. Kwamene uko na matenda yanu, ma Boer bakusekani….still calling you kaffirs mu ziko lanu. Ati BEE, ba pwazi imwe…Zambians remain among the most intelligent Africans all over the world. South Africa’s best export is rape, crime, HIV/AIDS and illiteracy…
Gentlemen, the world is coming to an end. There’s no way all these people are acting like this. We GOD to save AFRICA. I saw those pictures from RSA, there are very disturbing. Please Zambians let’s stay calm and pray to thousands of families who have lost their loved ones in South Africa. Zambia will rise and may GOD bless every Zambian.
ATTN. i am a zambian living in chicago. You all are NOT familiar with # 3, a crazy colored talking so much crap about our country. check out what he said on “POPULAR- two zambian families attacked”, go to the bottom, actuallu almost halfway and you will see you are dealing with a mentally retarded creep. another SouthAfrican actually disassociated himself from this creep. Keep fooling around my friend. I have lived here since i was 15yrs, i am now 46yrs old. I still Love Zambia dearly.I will not sit back and let you talk about my country like that, I WILL NOT!
PROUDSOUTHAFRICAN YOU NEED TO HOLA AT ME ONE ON ONE,
LETS TALK,,,,,,
Dear Bloggers, just what is the difference between xenophobia and being a nationalist to the core? Zambia seems to be missing one of the two or both. Why can’t we also protect what is ours? Even usage of the waters of the Zambezi River which South Africa wants to divert from Katima Mulilo or somewhere there to complement the Limpopo. We have become more over-kind as to have forgotten our purpose and our destiny. We are being taken advantage of.
#16, IF WHAT U R BLOGGING IS TRUE, NOW THATS WHAT I CALL BEING STUPID ON OUR POLICY-MAKERS. HOW DO THEY GIVE AWAY WATER WHEN TAPS ARE DRY IN ZAMBIA?
This is just crazy……I do not know what will happen next but history does repeat itself; yet maTswanas dont learn. Just the other year they were begging us to educate them and all we get is a ‘thank you you belong to the courts and prisons’ whatever the reason for detaining those Zambian drivers! Do not go the way of SA imwe ma tswanas you are yet to know how the world operates.
Utter Rubbish! How can one be a proud Zambian when you guys have given everything away to foreigners? Your ZANACO, your top flight mines, your major industries.. all are given away to foreigners and all you are left with is some shredded national flag! Examine your souls. As a country, you own nothing of any strategic importance. You have no leadership, you have no national airline, you are land locked, you own nothing. Levy’s loyalty is to the imperialists, hence his votes are not genuine, but rigged in his favour by the OP and Rupiah Banda. What are you proud of as your own?
No.3 lishilu lya kwikoli. You are hopeless satana iwe!!
LT please let us know what these zambians are going to be charged with. This is pure economics, if the tswana truckers do not have business acumen they should not use funny laws to stop people from participating in their economy. This is when it does not pay to assist any african, they are not trustworthy
#16 & 17, RSA has been trying to ‘rationalise’ the use of fresh water in southern africa knowing too well that they do not have enough fresh water, so they have created a protocal on fresh water and have something called the Zambezi River Commission where all states in SADC are supposed to sign. I am not sure what the details of this agreement are, however Zambia has refused to sign because it will be equivalent to selling this natural resource.
people from botswana are not being fair,they are just behaving just like south africans,i gess xenophobia infection is spreading out more quickly than i thought,if all african countries start adopting such a behaviour then there will be no unity and the chinese,americans and japanese will quickly invade our territiries.lets think about that
ZAMBIANS ARE THE JEWS OF AFRICA. Very prosperous, very brainy, very God fearing and very good looking…..We only have copper, but our life style was as if we had oil, diamonds and Gold. What a blessing it is to be a Zambian. God told Abraham blessed be every one who blesses you and cursed be everyone who curses you. So shall it be for Zambia……No wonder Nervous Mumba prophecied that ZAMBIA SHALL BE SAVED….WE ARE SAVED.
hey guys fone me on 74640677. small matata
Zambians must now learn lessons about how foreigners must be treated in Zambia. We have gained nothing in nbeing peaceful and worshiping foregners.those that do travel know what i mean.Whilst i dont ask Zambians to stop travelling i implore you to rethink how you treat these foreigners back home.Never give them a red carpet as you have done previously because none of you will be accorded that treat anywhere else in the world despite our sucrifices for them
Are there any Zambians thinking of going to settle in Nigeria?If not what do we benefit form 419.These chaps are crooks all the time.London jails are full of them
Zambians should be reminded that there are more business opportunities than in most countries so there is no need to worry about how some countries treat us.Maybe if we were a poor country,there could be concern,govt should help and encourage local investments instead of just encouraging chinese,or indians .Lets believe in ourselves.
Africa will never be same again and the worst is yet to come.trust between nations has been lost and it will never be regained.
Guys, don’t get emotional over this story. I feel it’s just one of those media sensations to exagerrate anything that sounds like Xenophobia in the region.
Anyway, the discussion has been triggered. Truly, Zambians seem to be the scapegoats of the region, always bowing and turning the other cheek. But as someone else rightly predicted, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth!” (Matthew 5:5, KJV Bible).
United States of Africa will never work in our generation!!abash gaddafi and Mbita!
Lets not be bothered too much. Lets just get rich and go on with our christian lives. perhaps one day our brothers will all grow up and catch up with us. We should nt stoop down and fight our juniours in the region. ie Zims, Sa, Bots Namibia etc. We are a light.
PS they are literally beneath us!
Zed indeed is the light and salt of the earth and many africans are jealous of Zed and envy to be Zedians! PERIOD!
#19 am cautioning you on what you are saying because what goes round comes round. They might be a shushushu on this site and never know might visit you. CAREFULL just blog on the topic.
Zed is really a threat and countries are really scare dof us
One Zambia, One Nation. Now we can all look back and thank that man for keeping us together..The number of languages listed for Zambia is 43. Of those, 41 are living languages and 2 are second language without mother-tongue speakers..all these people had to be united..and they are today..how good is that!!!!!!!!!! well done KK and Team
I AM SORRY.
#37 the official number is actually 73 languages (dialects) and like you I give props to Bwana KK and his team. I am imagining if in 1973 these chaps did not put personal interest aside and went multiparty immediately, this country would be ANC south, UNIP Central, UPP Luapula, Mbaula western province etc, but these guys really cared for this country.
Iwe chi # 35 dont bring ICHITINYA on this blog. This is not Kaunda era where you were fearing even your shadow! YOU COWARD!
at South Africa must play nanny to Africa are wrong and unfair. It is African countries and not South Africa alone that must change the continent’s image.
It is not our fault that people are leaving their own countri…READ BELOW WHAT THERE FELLOW SOUTH AFRICANS ARE SAYING ON NEW24. THESE PEOPLE THINK OTHER AFRICAN COUNTIES WANT THEIR MONEY.FOREIGNERS ARE WORKING HARD TO EARN THEIR LEAVING THERE.CLEARLY SHOWS HOW BLACK S.A CITIZENS ARE
“What irks me most is when it’s assumed that South Africa must develop other countries’ economies. Expectations thes for a better life in South Africa. These governments must assume some responsibility for pushing their citizens away”
…READ BELOW WHAT THERE FELLOW SOUTH AFRICANS ARE SAYING ON NEW24. THESE PEOPLE THINK OTHER AFRICAN COUNTIES WANT THEIR “MONEY.FOREIGNERS ARE WORKING HARD TO EARN THEIR LEAVING THERE.CLEARLY SHOWS HOW BLACK S.A CITIZENS ARE
What irks me most is when it’s assumed that South Africa must develop other countries’ economies. Expectations that South Africa must play nanny to Africa are wrong and unfair. It is African countries and not South Africa alone that must change the continent’s image.
It is not our fault that people are leaving their own countries for a better life in South Africa. These governments must assume some responsibility for pushing their citizens away”
SOUTH AFRICAN THINKS THEY ARE THE U.S.A OF AFRICA AND ALA BA LE PONTA BANE. ITS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE HIT THE AFRICAN HIGH WAY…WITH ALL THOSE GREEDY POLITICIAN THEY HAVE GOT!
42 what the southAfricans are saying is true.Respective countries are supposed to develop first and then Africa.
#14, iwe Dalitso, kodi mbeba ziliko uko ku CANADA? Ziwoneka bwanji? Sanchez, BOTSWANA.
Matswana people have always been against foreigners. Its a pity even the policy are gracing the issue at hand. I would have been consoled if it was coming from the “uneducated” popu. Shame upon you Botswana involved in this issue.
There is need to appreciate that certain businesses need to be reserved for citizens depending on the size of the economy, in terms of zambia, no foreigner should be allowed to sell at markets, run taxis or minibus, operate a bar, operate “tuntemba”, vend on the streets etc. In Botswana maybe they have identified operating truck business to belong to locals. If you r a foreigner, u r only allowed to deliver and not to load return trip. The fact that our govt does not protect Zambian businesses from undue competition by foreigners even where foreign investment is not required shouldn’t make us think that Botswana is xenophobic, lets learn from them and empower our own citizens to prosper!
Public Transport business opportunities is also supposed to be fairly distributed among citizens. Every transporter should be allocated routes of operation and there should be a limit of how many buses one can have servicing a particular route e.g. one should not have more than 10 buses operating chelstone route. In this way, more poeple will have the opportunity to run a successful transport business as opposed to 90% minibuses operating lusaka owned by one person! In RSA, Botswana, one is compelled to take his buses to other cities where he can apply for a route, every one has an equal chance of succeeding in transport business. Now look at us, even foreigners hav huge fleets of buses!
#47/48 i totally agree with you.That is wisdom and sense-making.
….Mwanangwa you are very right there. I think with all that is going around Zambia needs to really look carefully at its polices. Its time we become stingy too with the many resources we have to in order to better Zambians and not foreigner
Let us not confuse business competition with uncontrolled immigration. The problem in South Africa is the latter. Illegal immigrants, especially Zimbabweans, have been allowed in without any planning. These immigrants have ended up competing for meager resources with the locals. Inevitably, the locals have reacted adversely. On the other hand, genuine competition in business is healthy. Protectionism keeps prices artificially high and leads to inferior services and goods. If the Zambian government enforced immigration law without corruption, we would not have Indian and Chinese labourers competing with Zambians for Jobs.
The actions of the Botswana authorities here are inexcusable. If the Zambian truckers have entered Botswana legally then they should be allowed to ply their trade freely. It would be unreasonable, on economic grounds, for a transport firm to operate only one way. That would mean that the trucks would have to return empty. How stupid is that? I thought we were supposed to be operating in one single customs union. Somebody needs to tell our neighbours that politics of envy are ugly.
Africa Africa.Not ready for fair competition i guess
I agree with 47&48. Here in Zed we are very sleepy pipo, Indians, Rwadeses and Burundise are occupying most of the shops in ChaChaCha Cha & freedom way Roads. How many Zedians have shops in Rwada, India or Burundi. Talk of ntutembas in compounds they are there leaving Zedians at their mercy.
Zambia we a sleeping country ,yes its time we woke up.There is nothing wrong with Botswana protecting their local business or local investment.we need to tighten up and make sure most of the money generated in Zambia remains in Zambia.The Tswanas know how bad externalising money is for a country.We have to learn from them,rememeber how they turned their economy from the worst to one of the best.Believe me they do not wana have poverty again,poverty is sin
true. it is time Zed woke up from sleep. we just let any foreigner set up tutemba kind of business anywhere. what has been done to Zambians in botswana should be done to Botswana’s coming to do business in Zed.
Botswana has moved from being the poorest country at independence to a middle income country today with over US $10 billion in foreign reserves for a population of only 1.5 million and we think their policies are bad? We must be joking, if we are smart, Botswana should be a model country from which we must learn a lot of things because that is where we want to be in our vision, middle income country! Botswanas economy has been progressing over the years and they have also learnt a lot as they implemented their development objectives. During the same period, Zambia’s economy was declining, no lessons learnt, we were handed structural adjustment instead! Now that we can talk development, lets
#55 – you’re bang on right! We Zambians like talking about being friendly and good and welcoming. In fact what the rest of the world understands that to mean is that we are stupid, sleepy, doormats for anybody chased from their own country, and can be smiling foolishly to any stranger even when there is nothing to smile about. Wake up! Be mean to strangers if you have to, it is the stranger to prove that he deserves your welcome, not you proving to the stranger! I hear a lot of guys saying us Zambians are friendly, us Zambians are warm….C’mon, who bloody cares! I will come to Zambia and ask to sleep with your wife, but if you come to my country I won’t even give you a bed to sleep on!
learn from our colleques who have been developing since independence. Our competetitive business environment should not include all sorts of things which our own people can do. There is no other place in this world where Zambians will receive a positive discrimination in their favour apart from mother Zambia. RSA has affirmative action, black empowerment policies, In Botswana, certain tenders are reserved for citizen owned companies only, and private companies are required to localise work positions for expatriates after a maximum of 10 years during which time a local must have been trained to take over! The list is endless, in Zambia, u hav unemplyoyed graduates while expatriate teachers r
you bushmen leave our drivers alone..fyonse ku kosha..zed mst b always given favour in that devil desert climate country!!we educated you, 2day mwa a luka..we gav u pilots teachers engineers evn drivaz..atase mwe ba tswana.
If our government cares it will intervane and should make the out come public to show us that they are working for us and not just spending our tax money on themselves. Is Botwana working on tramp charges?????????????????
Botswana is the second most xenophobic country in Africa. The first, of course, is South Africa. This is according to the Sunday Times [South Africa] of 25th May 2008. So it is not surprising that the Batswana are behaving in a funny way towards Zambians and other foreigners like their South African brothers and sisters.
Zambia is a rich country but poor management of the country and over-dependence on foreigners is sucking the country dry.For instance Senegalese and Malians had ( may be still have)a field day with our precious stones. What do we have in return? Zero!! Let us be welcoming as Zambians but not to the extent of surrendering the resources of our country to foreigners.
I was in a group of Africans one night at a party in Dublin a few years ago. And one Tswana who did not know which country I came from remarked that SADC economic integration cannot work because we have countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia etc that bring nothing to the table but milk others. You can imagine how furious I got to single out my country. He went to attribute the economic situation in these countries to ‘laziness’ of the people. I had to restrain myself from taking him on because i realised he was a spoiled brute with a small brain studying endlessly (failing) for some small manila paper in physiotherap. Now here comes Zed in a big way! We will see who’s lazy. Besides they have no mkt
That is why Sata, nangu mwamupata bakolwe imwe, he had great policies concerning the protection of his people. For example pama elections, ZRA made more money because businesses where scared ati if they do not pay Sata akabwela, they will pay heavily. Another example, tuma employers started giving better conditions to workers, especially ku Lusaka. We need such elements in a leader. inde bwana does not work. Bushe kwena, how do you explain the situation of ama senegalise controling gemestone mining ku Copperbelt, tebukolwe beka bweka?
These South Africans, Tswanas and the like, just ignore them. They are so poor mentally due to lack of education. Kaunda sorted that for us. Being poor can be cured, but the greatest poverty is that of the mind, and that is is what our friends suffer from. Very few of them can reason, let alone work technically. I mean, how in their right frame of minds, can a person kill Lucky Dube? In Zambia we celebrate our celebrities, abena Mozegater. Ba South Baipaya Dube, nalibasuula saana. Ingnore them, balibe nchiito!!
The Tswana
The Tswanas are a tribe who migrated from East Africa to southern Africa during the 14th century. The origin of the name ‘Tswana’ is a mystery, but is applied to a number of groups who all speak the same language, have similar customs, but separate names.
The Tswana migrated into central southern Africa in the 14th century. As hunters, herders and cultivators they found the high plains to their liking. Game animals abounded, the grass was excellent for cattle, there were no serious endemic livestock diseases and the soil was deep and easy to cultivate.
Sorghum, beans, pumpkins, sweet melons and gourds were planted, and the Tswana found that maize, introduced by the Portuguese into the country, was also highly productive
Today there are 59 different groups in South Africa who now accept the overall name of Tswana. About three-fourths of the Tswana people live in South Africa. Only about one-fourth live in Botswana, the country named after them.
The Tswana are closely related to the Sotho (of Lesotho and South Africa). The Sotho-Tswana are bonded in language and customs. They claim a common ancestor, Mogale. They share an agrarian culture, social structures, political organization, religious and magical beliefs and also a family life.
The Xenophobia that has gripped South Africa seems to have permeated to Botswana. If one remembers the service that Zambia gave to South Africa during their days of aparthied struggle,…getting bombed on their behalf,…our hard earned copper money going to help their campaings….ANC head quarters in Zed, Mugabe teaching at Chalimbana, Nkomo in a Zambian state sponsored house,….and all the while never having to ask for anything back…..why the short memories?????
Indeed kingdoms rise and wane. For ZED we are on the rise phase. With or without RB the country will continue to grow the process is irreversible. When neigbours become jealousy then you know something is happening. The CIA report of last year puts Zambia at 80% literacy level far higher than most of these countries in Southern Africa. Let us just work hard, invest in our economy and educate our children. In our great wisdom we helped most of Southern Africa to be free politically.
No matter what they say Zambia is the best in Southern Africa and Africa in general. Socially liberated and can out smart any African. Watch out for this country. Our population is projected to reach around 30 million by 2030 where as the neighboring countries it is shrinking. Zambia is the next big thing now.