ABOUT 16 Copperbelt University (CBU) students have been arrested for alleged riotous behaviour.
Copperbelt Police Commissioner Mary Tembo confirmed the arrests and said the students were among those who took part in a riot in the early hours of Sunday.
The students blocked Jambo and Nkana East roads with logs which they were burning and threw stones at other road users over the continued accommodation challenges at CBU.
They further organised themselves and gathered around town centre where other students put up their mattresses and beddings.
Ms Tembo said the officers dispersed the unruly students in the early hours of yesterday but she was surprised that they mobilised themselves and went into town.
“We have arrested 16 students who were part of those that engaged in unruly behaviour by burning logs on the middle of the road. They were throwing stones and blocked Jambo and Nkana East roads,” Ms Tembo said.
“We managed to disperse them but we were surprised that some students organised themselves and booked buses and went into town and that was where we arrested them.”
Police in riot gear fired teargas canisters to prevent the irate students from causing further damage to the institution and kept vigil around the town centre.
And CBU Vice-Chancellor Naison Ngoma warned the students against engaging in unruly behaviour.
Professor Ngoma, who addressed the students around 03:00 hours yesterday, said it was important for them (students) to follow rules and regulations.
He maintained that the institution would not allow squatting at campus and that security officials who conducted the operations were peaceful and did not chase any student.
Copperbelt University Students Union (COBUSU) president Oscar Mbewe said the riot was allegedly caused by management which directed security officers to conduct a check to remove squatters.
Mr Mbewe said the operation annoyed the students and that was what led to the riot.
“The students were angered by management’s decision to conduct an operation to check if there were any squatters in the rooms. Nothing will intimidate us and we will continue squatting until they construct hostels and more bed spaces for the students,” he said.
Mr Mbewe said it was disappointing that management conducted an operation without involving all stakeholders.
He said most of the students left the institution and more than 30 of them spent a night at the Freedom Statue around town centre.
Guy Scott, Kabimba and Lungu’s IQ put together is less than that of Sata, so what do you expect of our country right now! Chikwanda says one thing Shamenda says something else we are in real trouble!
Scholars have long concluded that peace is a practice of justice. It is not the result of entertaining a hodgepodge of ragtag POLITICIANS who specialize in oppression, repression, and suppression of the population.
Students resort to riotous behavour as a way of being head.However little do they realise that they items they break belong to themselves and it is them who will use them in future.
Have u been to a Zambian public university? I doubt
Squatting is the rule of tertiary education life.I also used to keep two squatters during my time just to earn some few extra kwachas.
The VC seems to be chewing more than he can swallow. In the first place, why recruit more stududnts than you cannot accommodate? students start squarting in classes coz even the classrooms are not big enough. VC is intrested in student’s money at the expense of their health and security. This needs to be resolved but definately not through violence!
Who and where is the minister of education? Politicians? Prossessor, sir you need to adress the root causes!!!
Accommodation is not tied to admission to University. All the institutions including in the developed world cannot afford to provide accommodation to all the students. This is why students have the liberty to find accommodation in the nearby area or even townships. What do you prefer ” The UNIVERSITY admitting only 80 first year students a year (probably only students with 6 points -5 in 5) and turn the other 100s in the streets because there is no accommodation? People must understand that accommodation is a separate issue
The VC seems to be chewing more than he can swallow. In the first place, why recruit more stududnts than you cannot accommodate? students start squarting in classes coz even the classrooms are not big enough. VC is intrested in student’s money at the expense of their health and security. This needs to be resolved but definately not through violence!
Who and where is the minister of education? Politicians? Proffessor, sir you need to adress the root causes!!!
Over enrollment.
Ba Hone learn something from CBU & UNZA, these guys don’t break the university properties which belong to them. They instead go to Jambo and now “Nkana East?” roads to seek public attention. Go ZIT goooooooooo… dont relent
Listen to the students. They always have a message which policians ignore. I was there when it was UNZA – NDO and we did not just start matching. It was after a lot of effort to make the administration understand or politicians to put sense into them.
If you were to observe very carefully how these riots are caused you would notice that in most cases they are caused mainly by students who feel that if they were to proceed and write exams they would fail and thus bring an embarrassment to their families. The best therefore, is to try by all means to disrupt them by creating an environment that will result in riots. As for management, surely you cannot perpetually have the same problem without finding a solution to it – change the approach. Why is it that we do not have similar problems at either Copperstone University or Mulungushi University? To the students, I guess you do not plan to go to CBU with the aim of squatting do you? Please you are mature and if you can, help management. SQUATTING WILL NEVER BE A SOLUTION. REVISIT YO ACTIONS
Why did the PF govt not budget for building additional accomodation for students?? When it is a bye-elections money is always there and the budgeting is always visionary and adequate.
Surely, this shows that the priorities of the state are purely partisan and personal. Students are frusstrated. The ANC freedom fighers at one time sabotaged the Sasol coal fired plant worthy millions of US dollars to draw the attention of the world and the aprtheid regime to state terrosism in RSA at the time. The ANC were South African citizens who knew that Sasol was public peoperty, but they considered the message more important. Today RSA is free and the Sasol plant is being protected by the same ANC government.
Yes money meant to build more student’s hostels for all public universties has gone to stupid and senseless by-elections engineered by the Brainless PF. Furthermore, all the money meant to expand existing universities has been taken to the mother of all money suckers – Muchinga Province.