STRAY lions are terrorising villagers and livestock in Mulobezi district of Western Province.
On Monday night, a lone lion killed four goats and a cow in Situmpa village of senior Chief Inyambo Yeta’s chiefdom in Mulobezi district.
Shadrick Mweemba, a farmer and owner of the slain goats and cow, said the wild animals have been frequenting his village and that his family and many villagers were now leaving in fear of being attacked by the lions.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Mweemba said he managed to notify the Department of Wildlife and National Parks offices in Mulobezi but was deeply disappointed with their slow response.
“Imagine I had to walk so many kilometers from my village to Mulobezi boma just to inform them of what had happened to my animals. But the response I got is not pleasing because they kept promising me that they will send officers to my village to monitor the situation but up to now nothing has happened.
“As you see me right now am from the same office and am still being given fake promises by the officer and am told that officers will be sent this evening, so we don’t really know how we are going to survive because people in my village are living in fear and one can hear the lions roaring in the night, ”Mr Mweemba said.
When contacted for a comment acting park ranger for Department of Wildlife and National Parks Mulobezi field office Roy Seemani said his officers had already been deployed to the affected villages and the situation was being contained.
Mr Seemani said the wild cats terrorising the villages were believed to be from Sichifulo Game Management Area (GMA).
“What we normally do is that when a report comes to the office, we go for a follow up to make assessments and depending on the assessment on the ground, then officers are deployed to the affected area so that they can chase away the animals and make sure that they are back in the game management area,” he said.
There is a problem with the governance of the country. Edgar Lungu is refusing to hand in power to the speaker by confiscating the laws of the land.
Civil servants are not yet paid after 41 days and IMF is waiting on the side to implement the austerity measures. Load shedding is another issue, mwapya, save yourselves and your community. There is power vacuum tube due to too much dancing to Dununa everything in reverse order.
Just by a fun and kill one, they Will respond. I gurantee you thats the language these people understand. Who knows maybe thats the strategy to take over your land and increase their game parks,kaili ndye mwe badyela
you are a fool which Zambia are you in? ask any of your relatives who are civil servants if they didn’t get there money….. stop alarming the nation you should be proud and patriotic.look at the american they never speak ill of their country…be patriotic
PF lost in Mulobezi….
You people there are no longer part of Zambia. If it was in Bauleni, yes, the government will help you.
every is politics ba visionless lungu…like you know everything
Tell HH to respond and make sure the lion is hungry when he arrives!
Sorry i mearnt a gun
This is not news because in Liuwa its the order of the day especially in Mulinga where the farmers are losing livestock. The Government just looks at the poor people with deceit. Musokotwane does not help either. This year only 12 cows have been killed by the lions brought in liuwa by african parks. ZAWA keeps quiet please help the people of liuwa.
How can ZAWA help the people of liuwa with a hungry stomach.Pay them their salaries.Wina azalila naku nyelakumatako for voting jameson vodka chakolwa rungu…
Its selfsame type of mindset that caused all lions to hunted in Luiwa only to leave one lioness….have you ever wondered that it may be villagers encouraching on reserved land?
The villagers should kill the cats themselves provided they have evidence ZAWA failed to do so despite many pleas. My father took this route over an elephant and ZAWA failed to nail him. All he did was report the kill to ZAWA and ensure no one touched the carcass. Of course, he defended himself to the hilt when ZAWA took him on and succeeded by adducing proof that exposed ZAWA’s inaction. Please relay this message to the tormented villagers or ask them to contact me should they need tips on how to go about it. Zikomo.
Because you voted upnd the pf government would rather you died.
Kkkkkk iwe ngwele nez kansi uli kuno
VISIONLESS, ULICHIPUBA SANA.
Mulobezi voted for HH, Let HH go and chase the Lions. For those saying Lungu is not handing over power to the speaker. Which constitution are you having. Lundu should hand over power to the President -elect and not the speaker. Is the speaker the president elect?
H H is not the president to command anyone let alone game scouts; are you so dull that you cannot debate in a civil way on issues other than politics?
Ba Visionless stick to the topic, if you have nothing to say put up or shut up. what has that to do with lions. Nonsense.
Which gorvernment do you want help from? You voted for HH and I can direct you were his offices are even his home. But again this is the news that white people want to hear about Africa. People living side by side with animals. We do not want to deny them the fun.
You are waiting ZAWA..instead of doing what that Kenyan boy invented….simple motion trigger torches round the perimeter.
I just hate people who depend on government. Government this, government that – of course government facilitates, but learn to do things for yourselves. Lions have killed our cattle, where is government to help? Where is Lungu? Lungu this, Lungu that! When raising cattle on the park’s periphery of course you knew that they will fall prey to predators, didn’t you? So to you, government should come and fence off the lions? I guess you wait for Lungu’s instructions that it is now meal time, eat something, take a bath, now sleep? If Lungu doesn’t give the directive then you can’t eat, can’t bath nor sleep, heh? For once let’s learn to be objective people.
KILL THE LIONS, DO NOT WAIT FOR ZAWA THEY ARE TOOTHLESS AND FULL OF THIEVES.
Some of these game scouts have not been paid by this PF Government for over SIX MONTHS!
How can you expect them to do their jobs?
Our Government is so slow in responding to issues and they really need to improve. Chalala residents are being terrorized by thieves everyday and no action from the police. A simple act of deploying patrol officers in the area is a big issue. What more lions? It will take a year.
send those who speared us in Maala to finish off these cats…the cats smelt breakfast so they attacked but must have been shocked at how meek the prey was
He is very stupid man. He walks all the way from his village to Mulobezi Boma risking himself being eaten by the lions. Just kill the lions then take carcasses to ZAWA.
For centuries, whenever lions encroached into a village or settlement, the effected community would most definitely kill that particular lion or lions. Full stop. Case closed. Are we now expected to buy this story about waiting for Govt?
Reading between the lines, this story sounds more like a fabrication /exaggeration intended to sway and dupe public opinion to allow issuing more hunting licenses to foreigners with big money (like Donald Trump’s son) to come and hunt our big cats to near extinction. Obviously some politicians with no plan for Zambia will cash in on the licenses.
Just heard on BBC news that our Elephants in sub-sahara Africa have dwindled in numbers. From 500,000 not too long ago down to about 300,000 as at now.
Next it will be our big cats.
The number of big cats has already dropped due to hunting and with dull corrupt ministers like Jean Kapata who promote trophy hunting I highly doubt the number on the ground reflects what on paper.
@Cactus and @Jay Jay thank you for your honest opinions. People please understand the problem is not with the lions but people in charge of tourism management. Meaning a tourism minister with grade 7 skills and education. In developed countries the lions would have been relocated ASAP and they do not kill them because they are valuable natural resources. Human encroachment is a problem when people live in wildlife territory and competing for land and food. Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world and supposed to provide jobs for youth and people, alleviate poverty and malaria including child mortality. Those lions bring tourists and forex through direct and indirect effects and put food on peoples’ tables in this case ministers since they steal and communities don’t benefit…
Hotels, businesses, farmers and the government all benefit from these lions. Tourists stay in hotels, hotels pay employees, hotels and employees buy produce from farmers, farmers pay employees and by fertilizer. That revenue goes to the government who pay civil servants and is supposed to add to the GDP. For those advocating lions be killed please keep in mind those lions feed and take care of you and your families indirectly. The PF government is the real problem in that they know they have an incompetent minister and permanent secretary yet do anything. Obviously this issue will result in tension to both lions and people and cause alienation towards tourism. So think twice before you blame wildlife.