Home Affairs Permanent Secretary (PS), Mulenga Chileshe, has clarified that Zambia did not experience xenophobia.
Dr Chileshe says it is wrong for journalists in Zambia to say there were xenophobia attacks in Zambia.
He said criminals only took advantage to steal private properties as members of the public also joined in looting goods and merchandises in homes and shops.
Dr Chileshe said what South Africa experienced some time back should not be connected to the proceedings here in Zambia.
The PS was speaking at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday.
“Zambia did not experience xenophobia. Criminals only took advantage to steal private properties as members of the public also joined in looting goods and merchandises in homes and shops,” Dr Chilenshe said.
This was shortly after Home Affairs Minister, Davies Mwila, officially opened the 2nd Intra-Regional Forum on Immigration in Africa.
He regretted that journalists were ‘twisting’ facts instead of reporting the truth in information the people.
He is however, happy that police prosecuted more than 250 criminals and that no foreigner was nabbed.
At least 62 Rwandan-owned shops were looted in the riots in the recent riots that were experienced in some parts of Lusaka recently.
The riots started in two areas following rumours that Rwandans were behind ritual killings in Lusaka.
At least seven people have been murdered in recent weeks and their body parts removed.
Many Zambians wrongly describe it as the worst xenophobic violence in the country.
Rumours went viral on social media alleging that the body parts comprising the eyes and sexual organs were being used as charms to ensure success in business.
Meanwhile, the PS has disclosed that Prohibited Immigrants (PIs) once arrested in Zambia would no longer be sent to prison but instead fined.
Dr Chileshe said the new constitution provides that PIs would only pay a fine in court as substitution for a jail sentence.
He further disclosed that there are 50,000 auto-regular immigrants in the country.
In the past, PIs served jail sentences but the scenario changed early January, this year, when President Edgar Lungu appended his signature to the supreme document of the land, the Constitution.
Then tell us what it was in one word!
I guess they were foreignophobic then!
What Dr Chileshe is not telling the masses is that, it was hunger & poverty-stricken people who are feeling the negative effects of PFs economic crisis.
Hunger & Poverty are main factors that led to the xenophobic syndrome in Zambia, created by PFs policy inconsistencies & lack of vision.
Otherwise PF dwells in denial of their own pathetic fallacies. PF denies everything! 2’morow visionless PF will dismiss the flail by Chileshe, watch this space. Most likely Kambwili, Frank Bwalya & Mumbi Phiri will ululate PF’s never ending denials & inconsistencies.
So, Hunger & Poverty stand out as leading facets of the Zambian xenophobia period.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
Inanyokola Njala, vote wisely, Forward Litente.
HAHAHAHA! Is the government in denial?
Xenophobia: Fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners. Question to the PS as he applies his mind to a clear matter to make it political is were there any indigenous Zambian homes or shops looted? Was there any pronouncement made to the effect that it was ‘businessmen’ and not specifically ‘Rwandese businessmen’ involved. That said, more than xenophobia is the fact that police work in
Zambia is so politically influenced that even clear criminal offenses like ritual murders have to wait for some politician’s orders or speech, or indeed superstitious act by the public. We need to weed out politics in our communities. Bring back locally elected officials and not those brought from Lusaka or political parties.
Government do something positive before its too late. We have very sleeping security wings. Government has a responsibility to protect its citizens no matter what. Those surgeons all over the country doing the killings must be brought to book.
The same community knows who is doing it. Come up with a sum of money like whoever knows the people behind the political killings and reports them to the police will be given K200,000 or so much money. This will help to curb those political assassins.
They are not ritual killers, but are political hired killers!
If the attacks where not xenophobic what makes think the South African attacks where Xeno?
TRUE- THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT WASN’T. ZAMBIANS MAY BE BAD IN OTHER AREAS OF ENDEAVOUR, BUT NOT IN BEING A BROTHER/SISTER’S KEEPER. ZAMBIANS LOVE EXTEND BEYOND THEIR PHYSICAL BORDERS BOUNDARIES. ZAMBIANS HAVE BEEN LOVINGLY LOOKING AFTER REFUGEES EVEN BEFORE ZAMBIA’S INDEPENDENCE. ZAMBIANS CAN NEVER START TO HATE BROTHERS AND SISTERS NOW THAT THE COUNTRY IS EVEN IN A MUCH BETTER POSITION IN TERMS OF CONTROLLING THE COUNTRY’S DESTINY. ZAMBIANS ARE LOVINGLY ACCOMMODATING SIMPLE AS THAT. XENOPHOBIA IS NOT IN THEIR VOCABULARY. HOWEVER, OUR SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT FORCES MUST AT ALL TIMES BE PRO-ACTIVE AND NOT REACTIVE AS THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN.
i hope this doesnt reach the rest of the press outside zambia soon the world see has as idoits someone needs to give this man a dictionary……if this wasnt xenophobic the thieves should have looted Zambians as well …..hopefully Prez. will come correct this man
Copperbullet I toally agree with you, the damage already made now we got to live with it, it happened in this so called Christian nation shame on us.
They will only pay a fine??????
@Mario Gotze,my concern too!! A Prohibited Immigrant should always serve a sentence if he returns. PIs are a threat to our security and we want to simplify that into a mere fine!! Are we really serious with a peace and national security???People running away from troubled areas are fond of importing trouble to areas where they go. When some one is a PI,they should stay out or use a court process to change their status – not mere fines as we risk having many criminals amongst us who can afford to pay fines which will be detrimental to our peace and security.
Dr Chileshe why defending the wrong this time? Rwandanese were ruthlessly ransacked and no other nationality was treated like them. And where were you when riots and looting were taking place? You are giving a statement after 3 weeks and some Rwandanese already left. Are you really a doctor then i wonder if a country can develop with such mediocre civil servant.
from the definition of xenophobia, and what happened in Zambia one may conclude that this was a xenophobic attack because the attacks were only directed to the foreigners.
Comment: u guys zambians. one day u will know what u hv done to innocent rwandanese. let them teach u how to develop ur country . let ur jerous .work hard . african united