Friday, March 29, 2024

Zambia will not send troops to DRC- Mpombo

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The Zambian government will not sent troops to the war torn Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo because its defence wing is already over stretched.

Defence Minister, George Mpombo says government’s priority remains its own internal peace.

Mr. Mpombo told ZNBC news in the capital, Lusaka, Sunday that the Zambian defence forces are on alert for any possible spill overs from the conflicts in the northern neighbouring country.

The United Nations has requested member countries to help in mobilising 3000 troops for peace keeping mission in the DRC.
[ZNBC]

59 COMMENTS

  1. Not a good excuse from Hon Mpombo, police are there to maintain law and order. Fear for unknown Zambians are peaceful.

  2. You ‘village concept’ should think.The minister is right. How can u send troops to help in a foreign country when the situation at home is at stake. Can`t u foresee the confusion so far.U are talking about the police,do u know how short fall we are in the police force? Wake up man & comment reasonably…

  3. # Modget Bwit, I doubt whether you are a police man using a foreign flag. Since when have we seen soldiers helping in police work in Zambia? last time i saw soldiers getting involved was in 1986 during food riots. We are not at war in Zambia. Those who feel agrieved because they have lost election actually they have taken their case to court so where is the problem.

  4. we did our best in SADC with no profit.why send my brothers without profit? good thinking man.Zed is poor coz of my brothers who died for nothing.Remember kafue guys.Its now time to mind our business improve our economy and give hope to the next generation.we have blessed with plenty of resourses,both human and natural Bela Bela.

  5. we already have soldiers in DRC. A friend of mine is there who is a major in Zambia army is in DRC. May that is why Mpombo said Zambia army is over stretched. We have problems with communication skills by our government.

  6. No need to send our soldiers to people who dont appreciate our help. Lets CONCENTRATE ON OUR DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMES. Mpombo, PLEASE PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Mr GEORGE MPOMBO, you are a Cabinet Minister and as such you are a property of the Zambian people. Shave your head and mouth CLEAN. You look very dirty Sir, like a Mpombo. By the way a Mpombo in Lenje is a very big fierce Baboon. DONT LOOK LIKE A BABOON PLEASE, DO US PRIDE BY SHAVING YOUR MOUTH AND HEAD. We beg you Sir.

  7. Some comments on this blog are absurd,if it were possible,it would be really interesting to see how some chaps here look like and know the homes they come from,it’s just really mind boggling to read some comments,nothing makes sense.

  8. zambian just talk.they are very good at complaining and going to court and talk on radio and TV. forget about war in zambia. the worst we can have is rioting and he posible places are and the posible places are lusaka kitwe and ndola and MAYBE Livingstone. other wise they will just complain till 2011.but it can get nasty if the colleges and uni students get together like last time. i trust zambians,they can never go to war

  9. iwe ka suppergal why don,t you go and service those fighting in congo? Zambian soldiers should not lose their lives, helping the ungrateful people of congo.while we send our troops they intend to rob in our country.if you go theere and help them in kind you will save lives

  10. Please send the troops we are dieing like flies. they will be fighting behind the Angolans and Zimbabweans . How come Zim is sending but they have no fuel and food.

  11. “The Zambian government will not sent troops to the war torn Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo because its defence wing is already over stretched. Defence Minister, George Mpombo says government’s priority remains its own internal peace.”

    What internal problems do we have? Let us just help the Congolese if they need our help.

  12. Iye Mayo! what over stretched? our Army over stretched? the ANC youth league has seen more action than our Army, what is Mpombo talking about? but then we all know why its better for us not send our troops out anywhere. i will end here.

  13. Hate or like our Defence Minister,he is right by saying our forces have been overstretched.We may already have troops in Congo.
    Experts are saying the Congolese war may spill over to neighbouring countries because of fleeing Congolese govt soldiers & rebel soldiers of Laurent Nkunda who are ruthless & take on civilians so our forces are on high alert & have probably been placed around the borderline as some of you talk nonsense here.The defence Minister does not make decisions alone so what he has said is a decision that was had to make between intelligence units,defence forces & the President so all we can say hope our govt is right.

  14. LET THOSE KASAIS MASSACRE EACH OTHER. YES THEY ARE SO UNGREATIFUL. HOW MANY ZAMBIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED BY THOSE RUTHLESS THUGS. THEY HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR HUNDRED YEARS FOR WHAT? GREED.

  15. Yangu ba african queen insoselo ububi ee. Lets them masacre each each! Help in form of prayer for them to stop the rot cud be better-ko.

  16. I wish we could send troops to Congo to help a neighbouring country. The only problem is what if the war spills over to Zambia. Lets not forget, Zimbabwe does not share a border with DRC. If anything is to happen, Zambia will be affected and Zimbabwe will be safe.

    We already have soldiers in DRC but at the moment we cannot send some more due to national security. I hope you can understand.

    We Zambian people are very patriotic about peace. We helped during the fight for independence. We helped with the fight against apartheid. We would love to help but we are stuck in a corner.

    All we can do at the moment is pray for you.

  17. Some comments are weird…What is the link between “internal peace” and the army?? what is the police for then? And I don’t understand people who say we should concentrate only one oneselves and our development…how the army will contribute to the development? When you have the chance of being in peace it is a duty to help others who need it, especially in the case of DRC because it is a neighbouring country and it would have been at the same time in our interest to help keep regional peace and the stability of a country with which we do a lot of business. The important thing is to maintain our stability first of all but without closing ourselves to the rest of the countries…

  18. #21 – I understand what you are saying but I think that if things have to get worse and maybe affect neighbouring countries, first of all it would be countries of the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, Ouganda, Burundi..) and may be Angola, and secondly for me the best way to avoid war is prevention, by sending some more troops (in a number we can afford), not by just waiting and see how things will go.

  19. From some comments,it looks like most people here don’t even know the history to this war & who is fighting who.Although rebel leader Nkunda is the main man,this war is about more than 2 countries fighting congolese govt forces & the UN.The UN & Congolese forces have been overwhelmed by the amount of force from the rebels hence the fears of regional war as tensions have risen with regional countries again accusing Rwanda & Uganda of being the main secret forces as Nkunda does not have that many soldiers to go the way he is going bearing in mind that the UN force in Congo is the largest in the world.Zambia needs to protect its citizens before others,wake up kids.

  20. But Africa mwati-sebanya zo-ona.

    First it is Dafur in Sudan

    Then Kenya

    Then Zimbabwe

    Now DRC again.

    It was a mistake for the white man to leave Africa. We have proved that we cannot govern ourselves. How is it possible more than half of the continent is a recipient of aid. Johannesburg alone accounts for at least 15% of Africaès GDP. A city accounting for at least 15% of Africa’s GDP. That is a disgrace.

  21. I hope the thugs following Sata’s hooliganism can now see why it’s important to keep our peace that we have cherished for such a long time. Zambia would not be able to sustain any kind of war and therefore can not afford to go to war with itself. Zambians are free minded people and that’s why our level of violence is not comparable to countries that have gone through the trauma of war. We should instead direct our energies in developing our country. It is even said that, for a country that has never faced any wars, we have nothing to show for in terms of infrastructure development

  22. ‘An opposition Patriotic Front official has taken a swipe at Kasama Central Member of Parliament, Savior Chishimba following remarks made in connection with the PF leadership and convention.Mr. Chishimba was yesterday said that PF leader Michael Sata will never be President of Zambia as time has run out.He also called for the party to hold a convention.In reaction, PF official, Mrs. Charity Banda says Chishimba is not a member of PF and should not involve himself in matters of the party.She disclosed that the party is discussing the issue of the convention and that everything is in line.’ Source:w w w . muvitv . c o m /news /Nov2008 /16thpnews6 . h t m l

  23. ‘National Chairman Langtone sichone said political party leaders should not put personal interests first at the expense of those of the nation. Mr. Sichone who is also Spokesperson for the Zambia Centre for Inter-Party Dialogue charged that the recent disturbances in Kitwe were politically instigated and should be condemned.He urged peace loving Zambians not to allow a few disgruntled political elements to put the country on fire.’
    Source: w w w .znbc. co . zm/ media/ news/ viewnews. c g i?category = 9 & i d =1226850710
    True on DISGRUNTLED POLITICAL ELEMENTS. Viva UPND and president HH for Zambia come 2011.

  24. #25. You are right in some respects but please consider the history of African states before you judge them harshly. African nation states were created by Europeans without regard to their traditional kingdoms. Many related groups found themselves cut off from each other by the creation of artificial borders. In addition, these groups found themselves classified under the same countries as less related groups. Thankfully in some countries, such as Zambia, these groups (or tribes if you like) have managed to co-exist and make progress as identifiable states.

  25. Sorry guys but just a by the way, many people were saying let Zambians behave like the Amreicans in terms of the out come of the election. IN Zambia there were riots in Kitwe in particular But to my suprise its the same in America other people feel Obama is a threat to them,He has taken over the land their fore fathers worked for, they are saying let him be assasinated others are even giving possible dates to kill him, others wonder how he won.They are beting $1 for that purpose.Such things are happening across America in california,North carolina etc. So this thing is not a Zambian problem or African but a world problem to accept results.The reality sinks in when we see the president acts

  26. #1 From the comments you have posted about this issuse you truely sounds like you are an illiterate person, I truely am great for the job our soldiers are doing because if it had not been for them Zambia would not have been what it is and the countries around it… For your own ifo ZAMBIAN soldiers are the most used soldiers the in UN peace process through out Africa

  27. #25 I think the mistake was for the white man to enter Africa, they plundered the continent and planed all the current conflicts by using divide and rule tactics.. the worst fear for them was a United Africa which they thought would punish then for all the wrongs they did ..

  28. We should not send troops to Congo because the current crisis risks escalating into a full grown war.. and we may just find ourselves fighting a full scale war. Zambia has enough soldiers in all conflict zones around Africa.

  29. Pastor J i truely agree with you, but you see our leaders are also to blaim for what’s happening in Africa, we our very rich in Africa we provide about 58% of the world’s wealth.

  30. The move is the best of not sending troops to DRC from the most dullest minister. thank you very much. in oldest days they was a book titled Africa learns about Europe and Europe Learns about Africa. a simple explanation is our troops are at the lowest morale to be send there and what learns can they learn from they with the discontent in their mind? think!

  31. Zambia has suffered economically by helping liberating Apetheid South Africa and Zim with no tangible benefits in return.

    This time we need to rationalise how we apply our national resuores optimally. Our people still live in abject poverty.

    We can not afford Zambian human losses in these senseless wars. Unless someone agree that we are going to run Goma for 10 years! In which case we can control diamond mine.

    GRZ..Good stannce on this one.

  32. Sending troops to the DRC as a government may likely draw our country into a regional conflict. However, the best opinion is deploying our troops under the auspices of MONUC which requires 3000 additional troops. We definitely need to contribute to the realization of sustainable peace in the DRC.

  33. Its so disappointing to read the posts by some fellow Zambians on issues in our country because you are fortunate enough to be away, but i understand why Zambia is messed up it is because our leaders have mentalities similar to those of you putting up those child like posts. Lets be objective and use this forum for responsibly and be mature about issues instaed of basically showing off how good you have it where ever you are you economic refugees.

  34. The degree of ignorance displayed by most people on whether Zambia should send troops to DRC or not is shocking. Please do some research to find out how many troops Zambia is having in peace keeping forces around the world. There are reasons most of you do not know as to why Zambia should be on alert.The Minister can not just wake up and declare that we will not send troops. Do not comment on issues that border on National security if you do not know the facts.

  35. In my opinion we should keep watch on our boarders, and just let Nkunda kill his own people; he is a greedy man and i know God will reckon with him.

  36. National security which National security if we can read in between lines that what we do can have repurcussion. look around we can not have stability when the country is experiencing high poverty levels.

  37. ba 44 pliz send your brother or you can voluteer yourself,its open.Think about the orphans that war can bring to Zed without any profit.Like stated by other people that we helped others countries and in the end xenophobia!

  38. #44 Gentlemen Sending our Soldiers to Congo would mean taking sides in that fight,mind you a lot of Countries are involved there. by surpoting one side we would end up creating enermies from the other side. in such a case the opposition that is bitter about the last elections and is not Capable for a fight on its own would easily find an accomplice under such a scenario.Mind you the foreign enemy would look for a local collaborator who seems to be readily available at the moment. So Bravo mpombo secure our borders and avoid creating a foreign enemy so that any local politician thirsty for a fight remains isolated without corraboraters and accomplices

  39. Zambia has no capacity to engage in conflicts. We can send ‘VJ’ to broker peace just to limit the losses.

    It is a fact that RSA and others has more investment/interest in DRC than Zambia. What interest are we protecting by sending our brothers and sisters to face Nkunda and his lunatics? NONE.

    Zambian solders must be used to repais our badly damaged roads in lusaka and elsewhere.

  40. I AGREE WITH # 34 DE PASTOR. YOU PEOLPLE YOU ARE JUST TALKING U HAVE NEVER BEEN TO ANY WARTORN COUNTRIES LIKE SOUTHERN SUDAN, DAFUR, ITS A SORY SIGHT.LANDMINES ALOVER.INTERNAL PEACE IS IMPORTANT. ZAMBIAN TROOPS ARE FOUND IN THESE WARTORN STATES.VIVA DEFENCE MINISTER.

  41. It’s true ba Pastor. Zed has done enough in helping others with it’s Sojaz. However the nation doesn’t need local protection, aba BUJU eko bali………Instead let Biggy kamwemfu keep his own, in case Capt M.C.S finishes mending the ICIBWATO, coz Cops won’t manage it………

  42. this is Why he is fighting. Let him sort out Kabila

    Gen. Nkunda what is your interest in the renewed fighting?
    When you see how the country is being ruled it shows you how there is not even a single structure in place. Agreements are signed at personal level. How can you imagine a country signing an agreement with another country without the involvement of key ministers? It’s not normal. So much of our riches are being depleted for personal gain and to enrich other countries yet the Congolese are suffering in poverty. Why?

  43. Good ideas from mpombo although not specific.Sending troops to missions such as the congo, will expose our soldiers to bad mentalities.When they come back from the war zone,they put up selfish demands which sometimes can not be met by the govt.this may result in indiscipline within the army.In one of the west Afican countries for example the army officers held the generals at gun point for hours demanding to be paid unkown allowances.Zambian soldiers and the way the govt has raised them should not be exposed to to such conflicts. LET them be confined to the barracks and drink duty free beers.better to send policemen.

  44. cowards
    busy getting hiv and just practicing for agricultural show all year.
    we need to harvest congo’s wealth. its time we bacame imperialists as well, look at rwanda bane.

  45. Mpompo should just shut hell up and not cheap the Zambians that the military is over stretched wil local duties.Ala tata ba mpombo it is common knowledge that the election was rigged and that the MMD government needs the defence wings to protect them in case the Zambian decide to fight this flock of corrupt chaps.shame on u Mpombo that is why you are always spotted nealing b4 yo masters becoz u know deep down yo haert that u dont deserve that post

  46. Let us pray for our brothers in the DRC. Honestly the people suffering are the innocent civilians. That Nkunda chap has backing from his look alike brother in Rwanda other wise where does he get his support from to sustain the war? They are taking Rwanda’s ethnic issues into another country shame on them. Kabila should also work on structures within his government. How come up to now he does not have an organised army when he knows his country is not safe?

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