Saturday, April 20, 2024

Two Chinese nationals arrested for shooting 12 Zambian miners

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Chinese Directors at Maamba Hospital visiting the Miners

Police have arrested the two Chinese nationals who shot at 11 miners and one onlooker at the Chinese Collum Coal Mine in Sinazongwe district in Southern Province.

The Police sources informed Lusaka Times that Senior Police Officers from Livingstone town and Choma were sent to the coal mine to arrest the culprits who opened fire at the crowd and wounded the 12 people.

A check at the Maamba Hospital found that two miners who were in critical condition have been referred to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) for specialist medication.

Sinazongwe District Commissioner (DC) Oliver Pelete is reported to have confirmed this  development.  He said  that it was unfortunate that the Chinese nationals shot at the Zambians and that they should be arrested.

Police sources said the two Chinese nationals involved in the shooting have been taken to Choma after a statement was recorded from them.

The two miners Vincent Chengele 20 and Simon Simwete 28 who were in critical condition at local Hospital were taken to UTH after they were shot in the chest and  the head.

Madinda Siamubotu, one of the victims, said from his hospital bed that workers from shaft two and shaft three decided to gather in order to reach a consensus with management over their grievance to improve the conditions of service.

The miner explained that the Chinese management urged them to stop going underground because they had produced enough coal for sale.  However,  management decided to cut their salaries for the days they were informed not to go underground.

Mr. Siamubotu said the workers decided to call  their Union President Mr Sifuniso Nyumbu who  promised that he would drive from Lusaka to come and address them.

Mr Siamubotu pointed out that when the two Chinese nationals  from shaft two saw that the workers had gathered outside the gate they came out of their offices armed with  shot guns and decided to open fire at the  crowd.

However, an eye witness,  John Siabana said the Chinese nationals opened fire at the miners after they started throwing objects  at them.

And yesterday, miners protesting against the shooting broke the wall fence, and ripped off the roof at shaft two and carried away the iron sheets. The protesting workers also got away with water pumps and pushed the buckets that ferry coal from the underground into the tunnels.  Sinazongwe police failed to control the angry  protesting workers and  called for reinforcement from Choma and Livingstone. The angry protesters vowed to sort out the Chinese management.

70 COMMENTS

  1. Those are the kind of investors that you have brought into the country. You think of the Chinese nationals as Angels from heaven. A country like zambia cannot be reduced to nothing. It is very unfortunate to the Leaders of that country. We have made zambia to be poor becauser of the poor policies. There are many countries in the world you can run to for development and not the Chinese. They are crooks who are just interested in getting away your riches by exploiting innocent Zambians. I appeal to the president to consider seriously where he is taking the country. Chinese must pack and go or otherwise we are going to start gunning them one by one. We have got guns too and if we mean it we can finish them. I wish the shooting victims a very quick recovery.

  2. hang the mother.f.uckers. *****s, chinese are always bad, and racially biased. these sons of a bit.ch should be sentenced to death. this will stop other mother.f.uckers from behaving in this manner. kill them, kill them….

  3. hang the mother.f.uckers. *****s, chinese are always bad, and racially biased. these sons of a bit.ch should be sentenced to death. this will stop other mother.f.uckers from behaving in this manner. ki.ll them, ki.ll them….

  4. I spend allot of time in Southern Africa and am absolutely amazed by the number of Chinese that I see in remote areas and the furvor with which they are received bu the locals. After the centuries of being taken advantage of why can’t the indigenous people of Africa realise a scam in the making? Wake up Africa, the Chinese are the rapists of our planet! I fear that he final chaper of Africa’s plight will be not be purpetrated by the Whites, Africa will be murdered by men with Yellow faces.

  5. Just stop selling mines to any company. Zambia should own mines and keep on exporting minerals for its profit. 20 coal miners are dead in China hence the anger vergence on Zambians.

  6. I don’t think that the crimes committed by two chinese nationals should reason to demonise the entire nation.
    Recently,a Zambian chap was convicted of murder in the USA and did the entire US nationals demonise the Zambians as being demonic criminals?No
    So let the law take its course by following the right procedures like investigations and prosecutions.There are two sides to this story and lets hear from them too though the law will want to know if the use of a firearm was reasonable under the circumstances.

  7. What do you expect from Chinese mine investors, when their own mines in China are the most dangerous in the world. The problem we have in zambia is that these so called investors are laid red carpets at state house whenever they visit zambia even if they are from slums of China. The ministry of commerce is now irrelevant under Banda because he does not consider civil servants. They have now appointed a political board of failures which looks at investment coming to zambia. This Board does not scrutinise in these Investors when they come, as long as they are approved by Banda all is well. MMD should not expect any votes from Southern Zambia, this is their last nail in the coffine, mind you these are conservative people.

  8. Hence the need for creating an investment fund for all in the diaspora to invest back into Zambia. Properly managed the dividends will be good and we are empowering ourselves. I am a scientist, if I was a finance expert I would be try to arrange for this, so you financial experts devise a legitimate fund into which we can start contributing into whatever amounts individuals can afford and use it as an investment vehicle into Zambia before we find these crooks have sold our inheritance completly.

  9. #11 What kind of investment can we do when we cannot afford to build or buy a house for our own immediate families or better still our parents’. You cannot think of investing before you know where you can lay your head when you visit your own country. Most of us in the diaspore are hand to mouth people. Sometimes I really wonder why we left our country zambia because many times you visit you find that the people you left are far much better than you are. Look at the cars they drive and houses where they stay.

  10. These short people should be jailed. Let all Zambians stage a demo against these muderers.

    We are waiting for Dola and Shikapwasha to lead the demostartion. 12 Zambians have been mudered by the chinese and yet RB is busy flying, he is unconcerned.

    People of Zambia see how useless your president is. Please chase him in 2011.

  11. Kanguya, agree in some cases but not all. At least what you have got you have worked for honestly, some of course not all but there is a lot of wealth which has not been made honestly in Zambia.
    Lots of money is also sent by people back home going by the amount of people I see in my local western union.
    If we pulled whatever amounts together it would definitely amount to something. I also know alot ofpeople who have lost some money trying to get other people including relations to do things in Zambia, i have personal experience as well, sometimes I wonder what is the way foward.
    Kumukala kwakala

  12. Let them face the law.
    RB wake up. When a human being is angry, he fears no death. When Zambians arise in anger to take vengeance for evil foreigners are doing to them,your corrupt ZP will fail to control it. Not even your ill fed Paras. A miner is a miner. Even those who have never been to School they know how to make up explosives and detonate the same. Please do not allow blood shed in Zambia. Soon and very soon you will witness what you have never witnessed in your poitical career. See now you have started crush landing. Fellow miners,wake up and deal with those chinese and poor Indians. Here they are toilet cleaners. And for those yellow short chinese they have no respect for life. Wake up Zambians you are too peaceful for nothing! Can a Zambian shoot a Chinese in China?

  13. Anyone with a single brain cell should realise that these people will be released quietly on the orders of Nyama Soya.

  14. #14, it is us in the diaspora spoiling these relatives, somesimes they would say I need money for talktime we end up giving them Us$300, for them it’s for buying blocks. I can sometimes imagine my own cousin who is all the time asking for money from me, he has finished building a mansion in Rockfield (Chalala), I even slept in that house the last time I visited home. Us for me here I do not have even a 1 bedroom house. They even go for parties at our expense when me the money maker I have two jobs to make ends meet. Only those in Botswana, Angola, Namibia and South Africa can manage to invest back home, for us in Europe forget my dear friend, hand to mouth will always be the order of the day.

  15. Well, well, well. Who do these Zambia Police dunderheads think they can cheat by pretending to arrest these Chinese “Infestors” when it is very clear that they will go the Dr. Musonda way of releasing them, claiming there is inadequate evidence for a successful prosecution??

    The Militia and Dr Musonda have already set the example of MMD’s politics which the Chinese have now followed. Threatening violence and shooting defenceless, unarmed people is MMD’s nature. Their Militia have threatened HH, Bishop Duffy, Mpombo, Kavindele, Shakafuswa, and many others all attesting their violent dispensation.

    MMD POLICE WILL NOT PULL A BLANKET OVER OUR EYES THIS TIME BECAUSE EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THEY WILL NOT ACT

    So as it was Dr. Musonda, so shall it be with the Chinese “Infestors”

  16. All my life, I have known Zambians to be peace loving and laid back. It takes a lot to rattle a Zambian! I totally understand why the miners rebelled against this form of Chinese tyranny. They are bringing their form of cruelty to Zambia and they look down on our race with disdain! This is ridiculous, brandishing their rifles and aiming them at people from the host country. Do these Chinese folk who are behaving in this manner think that Zambia is the Wild West? I bet they would not dare behave this way in let’s say….hmmm……CHINA. The time has come to say no to such tactics and take our hard won independence.

  17. It appears the two Chinese men were self-defensing.

    “However, an eye witness, John Siabana said the Chinese nationals opened fire at the miners after they started throwing objects at them.”

  18. For those of you in policy making capacities, before you bring people into the country, assess how they treat their own people and ask yourself if it is reasonable to expect the same people to treat Zambians any better. I mean, why would a Chinese who mistreats fellow Chinese treat Zambians any better>? The truth goes for Indians, Brazilians, Italians and Russians. If you bring in investment, make sure that the people that are coming in are held accountable at home and abroad. For example, a Canadian or an American who breaks US laws abroad is still liable when they return. As a result, even were local laws are lacking, US and Canadian citizens have no choice but to default to the standard they would be held at in their respective countries which is on average will be stringent.

  19. #17 spot on; having lived in south africa and all those other countries you mention,i can assure you that the diasporans there are in similar difficulties investing back home; the only advatantage is that they have capacity to physically run their projects.

  20. Americans are the rapist of the planet. they open fire when they got attacked. in iraq and afghanistan dbag american soldiers open fire just for fun!

  21. We must either send former Health Deputy Minister Dr. Solomon Musonda to go or ‘sort’ out these Chinese fellows or ask Kalu to ‘discipline’ these chaps them as ball boys for one year or incorporate them in the FAZ Committee until the next scheduled meeting (next year)! At least the Cobra has been vindicated when he said (and has always said) we need more serious investors.

  22. #13, read before you start shouting wechipuba.. no one was murdered. How can a bullet made in China kill even a dog? All Chinese products are fake. And they deserve self defence, mwachilamo ukuchusha ama Chinese, mwebana bambwa mwe.

  23. There was a Zambian girl who got married to a Chinese man,after two months
    in the new marriage she got pregnant and duly bore a baby girl who died; the Aunt
    at the funeral came crying. `I KNEW IT, `I KNEW IT, `I KNEW IT, `I KNEW IT,

    So close relatives got curious, took the Aunt on the side and in a quest to establish what she knew.

    Then she said loudly, `I KNEW IT, THAT CHINESE PRODUCTS DON’T LAST!!!!!!

  24. If only words were actions Zambia would have been the richest country on the face of the planet. This is not the first time and certainly not the last when Zedians have expressed their indignation over the unruly behaviour by some Chinese nationals. What happened after another incident at the same mine? More ranting and words of anger but like a deflated ballon we all went to drink kachasu and chibuku and mosi and etc and forgot that we were beaten by some chinese managers. Watch this space. Zambians, we are too placid for our own good. I once lived in Nigeria and believe you me students there would have been to visit the mine and thrown one or two petrol “plastics” at the offices or houses of these *****s. Don’t get me wrong I am not advocating for violence but at the rate things are…

  25. Comment 20 is very useless,self defense with guns?Mbeba iwe……its like u are even happy how can you comment like that,atase.arrest those dogs.

  26. This is what you get when you bring in Chinese prisoners pretending they’ve come to Invest and yet they here merely to finish off there Jail sentences. The biggest fool is Rupiah, and we will shoow him our mantle next year. This is s’tupidity of the highest order on Rupiahs part to pretend this is not happening. What a fool and danderhead

  27. Dont blame the Chinese Investors. This is what happens in a country where government Ministers (Dr Solomon Musonda) shoot their own people.

  28. #26 senior citizen, Mwata, Veteran…

    Ala bane muli chipuba sana. Your country men are mudered and you are celebrating heey!!!! You are the only one on this blog who behaves like a dog licking the bottoms of your MMD thugs.

    These chinese have committed muder and as such they must be arrested ASAP.

    Sure senior citizen, Mwata, Veteran mu ba dog dog.

  29. Its another scandal in a million scandals! Police redeem yourselves. Give people hope by prosecuting these criminals successfully! Remember the security of this country is in your hands. Do not not allow anarch to take root through selective justice being championed by your masters who in most cases use you wittingly or unwittingly.

  30. Only in Zambia. I wish RB was in that ZAF plane and never made it, we’ve had enough of this nonsense it has to come to an end. If a Zambian shot at a chinese in China that would be the end of him, probably its time people started taking the law in their own hands. These murderous Chinese already know they will get away with it, the worst would a slap on their wrists. What makes people like RB to choose foreigners over his own people, if he could he could tell donors off over a simple Kafupi how about the eleven lives that we were going lose? Infact a normal president would have postponed the Solwezi trip and rush to Sinazongwe to show solidarity with his people as the case was with the Chilean president. This is most useless and playful president ever in the all wide world.

  31. Honestly gornment does not need Chinese Investors to operate a coal mine. All they need is a stable market for that. Such coal mines if I were to advise must resort under parastatals that are controlled by Energy and Transport Ministries. For instance ZCCM is in charge of copper mining operations. Since coal is mainly used for energy, there should a consortium to operate as a parastatal to manage coal mining operations and resort under Energy Ministry or alternatively since coal was used mainly in rail transport, let there be a consortium operating as a parastatal to run these mines, under the Ministry of Transport with a link to rail operations. Look now what the Chinese are doing to sabotage efforts of government.

  32. :o Not again! Machoncholi bachita over manje, this mutbe the end of them operating in Sinazongwe. They are simply trying to enslave the people there in such a wy that they cannot even express their desires. Who really needs such kind of investors anyway? The lives of people are more important that investment. It is hightime the govt checked these investors serious. There is just no way an employer can shoot at protesting employees in this era. If they do that kinda shit in China, they must be reminded that in Zambia we dialogue. That mined should be reposessed they have violated the law and the contract they signed if they signed any at all! Nikutupisha che tuma chinese they are facking arrogant pigs!

  33. #20, u cannot shoot and injure 12 people and claim self defense, that’s ludicrous ..#32…spot on and for those who don’t know, one of the mines employed Chinese convicts, and I could not believe it..that was about 2002…I think the problem is with our government and its useless policys, guys please vote them out

  34. Very shallow comments. Why blame everything on RB? A lot a Zambians do worse things…raping maids, minors etc and killing your wives. Now you want to claim to be so rightous. If you’ve got money why don’t to start or buys the mines? We all now want happened to ZCCM!!!

  35. Taking advantage of situations is not right. Those chinese guys cimmitted a crime and should face the consquences that come with such a crime. In the same vien, those workers who started the pelting of the chinese must also be brought to book for inciting violence that also ended up with looting. Acrime is a crime it does not matter who haqs committed it. If those workers had an issue with management they should have waited for the union leader whom they had summoned instead of takung a short cut to the situation. Iam only saying that procedure and sanity is cardinal.

  36. To ken 5:

    stop your bull shit , these are just happened after many years , they will learn a hard lessons , but not death sentence for such a offence . deportation and heavy fines or penalties and heavy compensation is most needed on this case , we are not here in the world promoting killing each other ,but for fools like this we need to do something .

  37. thats sad but y did the so called union official leave it late. if he acted on time, the poor miners could have being saved from those trigger happy chinese tri-ads.

  38. Felow countrmen, if the government fails or delays to act, you just take the law into your own hand; these streched-eyed people who now enjoy the freedom they cannot have in their dictatorial china have no respect for either human life and right. Please sort them out, the time to act is now.

  39. GRZ has to move in quickly, these people of Sinazongwe are very dangerous ( generally) Tongas are very dangerous when provoked. They will take the law into their hands, by the time police will come they will have slaughtered all chinese in the area like cows at a funeral. They do not care who you are whether white or black. Remember VJ Mwanga during the time of Mwanawasa wanted to bring UNIP ways by hiring thugs from Choma town to intimidate villagers in Mapatizya, and those thugs woke up to a rude shock to realise that Villagers were so stronger and beat them so badly. Thats how the Mapatizya formula was born. Do not start violence on Tongas, because what you would receive can be shocking. Now Chinese are the most cursed in Tongaland, and it will take time for chinese to mend this.

  40. I have been pro-communist since University but really what the Chinese have been doing in Zambia lately is baffling. They should have known b4 coming to Zambia that this is a peaceful country and guns are not carried anyhow here- it is not South Africa. Yet they came in with guns and decided to use them on WORKERS; of all people! They set up a disaster of an explosive factory. It resulted in tragedy for Zambians and they got away scot free- not even an apology! They would be paying compensation in millions if they had done this in the USA! Or May be they have and the MMD hasn’t told us.

  41. So many Zambians are saving jail terms in other countries for bigger crimes and I have never head nationals of those countries demonstrating. So many Zambians are in jail in China today for drug trafficking and I never heard 1.4 million Chinese nationals stumping the ground demonstrating against the pollution of their souls by Zambians. So Zambians should grow up and stop claiming all Chinese people or investment is bad. Just like here, there are good and bad Zambians, it is therefore imperative for people to stop “Sata”nizing this matter by rubbishing China, it’s foolish and childish. Just let the law take its course, period.

  42. UPND take charge of this situation, it happened in your stronghold. MMD cadre Kabonde will drag his feets and waste time on a straight forward case. UPND solve this serious issue. Get those Chinese and make them pay dearly.

  43. if these chinese hadnt opened fire with their pellet guns they would have been skinned alive. pure self defense. dont forget batonga and mapatizya formula no size

  44. Edward Mumbi was condeming opposition political parties that they were trying to gain political milage over this shooting incidence. Can a normal person condem people who are giving their views on wrong things! Mumbi, a job seeker, may be is also a Chinese! The law in Zambia is very selective.

  45. THE CHINESE ARE GALU, IMBWA.DOG EATERS.SEND THEM BACK TO CHINA IMMIDIATLY AND SAVE OUR DOGS FROM BEING EATEN BY THESE CROOKS.FINISH THE CHINESE INVESTMENT IN ZAMBIA AND LETS OPEN UP INVESTMENT WITH TAIWAN , KOREA &. MALASIA IN CHILE THE GOVT SUCESSFULLY SAVED 33 MINERS FROM THE MINE AFTER 2 LONGS MONTHS BUT IN ZAMBIA THE CHINESE SHOOTS ZAMBIAN MINERS INSTEAD AND THE ZAMBIAN GOVT PREFERS TO BE QUIET AS IF NOTHING HAS EVER HAPPENED.THIS IS ZAMBIA TODAY FELLOWS,NOBODY BOTHERS ABOUT ANYTHING.THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENDED UNDER BIG MAN SUPER KEN WHEN HE WAS IN POWER.I .

  46. Zhang ziyi a gook sounding like a honky
    thank god the latter is going extinct and the former is following suit, they will never learn.

  47. Listen Shaka Foolo you little monkey ape tell your mother to get back to cleaning my garden. The only ones going extinct are you monkeys. If you haven’t noticed already there are over 1 billion Chinese in the globe – can your monkey brain comprehend this number, you damn ape?! As for everyone else, this is what happens when you get worthless n?99ër$ to try to work – hire monkeys, you must pay peanuts. The truth no one wants to say is that guns are the only way you can get the c??ns to work. Otherwise they spend all their time in the trees counting how many flies are eating their $?it-skinned children.

  48. WHAT HAS BECOME OF CULTURAL SENSITIVITY. AS AN EXPAT WORKER IN A FOREIGN LAND….. WE ARE TOLD TO BE CULTURALLY SENSITIVE AND RESPECT THE HOST COUNTRY’s LAWS, CUSTOMS AND CULTURAL PRACTICES

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  52. Doesn’t stop..Chinky mafia are increasingly using Zambia as a strategic point to conduct their illegal businesses. How Zambians are treated is something one should take a long look at…the same Chinky land they come from…the same treatment…abuse human rights…abuse Zambians and local workers…get money from the Chinky government to finance private companies indirectly claiming it is a private company….the little doodles… you should look at all the luxuries the government has been provided with…unbelievable…some banks are being scrutinized in England for their part with the Chinky government…and Chinky mafiosos…Chipolopolos…watch out there…

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