One jerabo was killed and another injured in a confrontation with police as scores of the notorious illegal copper dealers daringly broke into Konkola Copper Mines’ (KCM) Nchanga Mine early yesterday morning.
A police officer was hurt in the skirmish which happened at the concentrator section of the mine where the intruders were said to have gone to look for mill-balls, concentrates and other resale materials.
Copperbelt Police Chief Charity Katanga and Copperbelt Minister Bowman Lusambo confirmed the incident in separate interviews, both vowing stern action against the group which has been menacing the mine’s employees and disrupting operations at one of Zambia’s largest copper mines for weeks now.
Ms Katanga said the incident happened around 06:30 hours yesterday at the KCM concentrator plant when a group of men forced their way into the plant, defying orders and warning shots from the police to leave the premises.
Police were forced to open fire when the mob began pelting them with stones and other missiles and began to advance towards them in an aggressive manner.
Sources told the Times the intruders numbered over 50.
Ms Katanga explained that in the process one person identified as Patani Silimba was shot dead while another Robby Subakanyama was injured and is admitted in hospital.
“I can confirm that one jerabo was shot dead while another is nursing gunshot wounds after the group stormed the plant in the early hours of yesterday,” he said.
The injured police officer was identified as Constable Mumbi Phiri who sustained superficial wound on the arm was treated and discharged from Nchanga South hospital.
This death was the second of a jerabo within a week.
Mr Lusambo said he was saddened at the levels of lawlessness exhibited by the jerabos and warned there would be consequences for those breaking the law with impunity.
“This level of lawlessness needs to end. I will be travelling to Chingola to try and reason with these people because as Government, we will not allow lawless people to disrupt operations at the mine and risk the lives of community, ”he said.
Last week, a suspected jerabo who was in a group of 20 others, among them boys younger than 10 years, was shot dead by police after the mob struck a female police officer with a stone as they forced their way into an open pit area of the same mine in Chingola. The mob destroyed two machines and set ablaze another.
Chingola Mayor Titus Tembo condemned the behaviour of the group, made up mostly of young unemployed persons who scavenge for the waste products from the mine to sell to scrap metal dealers and foreigners who operate mini-smelters in the town’s residential areas.
He said it was saddening to see that some very young people had been taken in by the mob and began to challenge law enforcement authorities, leading to needless deaths.
Meanwhile, the Small-Scale Miners Association of Zambia (SSMAZ) is saddened at the increasing illegal mining activities on the Copperbelt and is calling for ways to dialogue to explore ways to enable more local participation in the industry, reports James Kunda.
Association president Simon Njovu said reports that operations at major mining houses like KCM were being disrupted by the Jerabos on the Copperbelt were unfortunate and could not be supported by the SSMAZ.
“We know that the Government means well for small scale miners as demonstrated in the pronouncements by President Edgar Lungu.
“All we need is dialogue so that whatever policies are laid for this sector to grow can be implemented,” Mr Njovu said.
Mr Njovu said the small-scale mining industry required help in terms of funding and skills development for entrepreneurs to contribute meaningfully to economic development.
He said there were 14,862 small scale miners countrywide and cooperatives had been formed and all that was being waited for was Government support.
Mr Njovu urged Government to negotiate with Nkana Alloy and Smelting Company, a much improved stake for small-scale miners to have in the Nkana slag pit in Kitwe commonly known as ‘Black mountain’.
He said the Black mountain, before being handed to Nkana Alloy as rightful owners benefitted 3,200 people and the 10 per cent for small-scale miners was too little.
Lord have mercy! Jesus take the copper!
Uko!
Bloody thirsty PFolice & PF bandits whilst on visionless Lungu’s orders are ~drilling~on each others throats.
The PF created this banditry monster where violence is treasured & not dialogue. Its this same monster of bandits which PF of visionless Edgar created by violence will bring PF leadership to its toes.
PF is now tasting its own concoction of monster bandits whilst 980 deaths in 3 weeks is ignored. Under PF, everything is failing & falling apart. PFolice & PFgerambos are on each others throats, drilling one another, uko good luck.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
Bowman is himself a Jerabo. Is it possible in any case to reason with lawlessness?
The point is we live in an unjust world more so Zambia where gainful opportunities
are closed to many who deserve them. The question is how best do you fight such
injustice? …
Very sad for the loss.
This is unacceptable behaviour.
Once again thank you to police officers for bringing order.
PF now start brutal fighting within.
Mumbi Phiri sustained artificial injuries. I don’t get it.
The PF government promised jobs which are nowhere near sight and patience is wearing out with frustration taking root among the armies of the still unemployed youth! Hope has thinned for government has no plans to share as regards jobs thus any opportunity that avails to many a youth is exploited in order to make a living! The likes of Lusambo will earn respect among his fellow jerabo’s now that he has a position of influence if he can organize the colleagues into lawful and gainful ventures. Always remember the saying “A hungry man is an angry man” and when it so happens the mindset of anger is one of a person who thinks a bullet would not penetrate into their body
The consequences of allowing lawlessness to reign
Chiluba could have given the black mountain to Zambians and not the foreigners just like he did to the housing units that were sold to Zambians??.Just imagine if those housing units were sold to the so called investors?
Lusaka would have been looking so modern
The government accepted these criminals to be part of the government all in the name of wanting to get votes . Which I don’t think they even vote. We like it or not these groups are criminals who do not deserve even the black Mountain. The are jail boys and you call them jerabos. They will never be normal citizens no matter how much you do for them. This is why at one time they drove trucks and cars on the run way at ndola international airport. Please, politicians learn to chose who you can include in the government. And funny enough even the opposition would love to have these jailboys to there side. Politics of dirty are not processive. We don’t need them please jail them.
kill them all please ba pf police cadres.they don’t have money to buy food for their families…lol
Katanga even has the audacity to say “One Jerabo was killed”…. Why call them Jerabos when they are intruders or Invaders. Calling them Jerabos is like glorifying them. The problem is these thugs have tolerated for too long mainly due to political expediency
The chosen one,you’re 100 percent right and I’ve never truly understood why these people get away with crime . The police know them and still they are left to walk freely and harrasing innocent people. Come election day they are given a platform. Things politians do to get votes.
They are PF caders. Why are you now wanting to call them criminals
Ndelolesha fye?
This is partly caused by high unemployment levels in chingola
The place has been terrorized by this same group for sometime who seem to be increasing by the end of the day.
Something needs to be done immediately otherwise Chingola has become a danger place to live in of late.
Kambwili and PF ‘manufuctured’ these hoodlums. The more reason why police have been powerless faced with these rampaging govt-backed terrorists.
We all remember how Kambwili glowingly paid tribute to a past jerabo called Youngson at Wusakile Stadium. The riff-raff was nearly accorded a state funeral!
And the dead jerabo’s little brother went on to become Wusakile MP in the last election, nodded on by CK of course.
Faced with a very difficult task, CB police have succumbed to the adage “If you can’t beat them, join them” and gone on to be on the payroll of the thugs.
To be honest, Bowman is up against it and it should surprise no one if he, too, soon answers the same idiom. Pathetic.
When this nonsense started in late nineties it looked like a game. It’s now a reality.
Again and again we have said it. This country is finished. Lawless is the order of the day. Last week one jerabo was killed, this week another, UNZA students are rioting, political detainees are littered all over the country, Musimane was brutalised, the list goes on and on. The economy is dead stuck with fake inflation figures being pronounced. Close the blurly thing and bring back the whites to rule us.
Don’t just write full of ignorance – the country is intact, in spite of high levels of unemployment, Zambia’s economically and politically stable.
Cont Mumbi Phiri hahahahah!
pf police cadres please shoot all the Jerabos since the pf government doesn’t have money to fill their pockets as promised during the election compains.We know pf government is a government of murderers,thieves,drunkards…
then we have lungu spending money trying to take Zambia out of ICC while his stone throwers he promised money in their pockets are starving and unemployed…….
Lungu and PF have failed to rule Zambia
It is surprising to read that the minister said he was going to reason with them. Do you reason with criminals or do you arrest them? Since they have one in hospital he should be under police custody and he should give up the names of all the others so they can be arrested. Back in the 80s there was a notorious bandit on the CB called Kapenda or something. The police worked hard to capture and arrest that guy and many criminal gangs that terrorised the CB at that time. You could really be proud of them. Not anymore.
He is going to reason with them because he is also a criminal…lol
Yes!!
This is but just the beginning. Hunger drives a man to the extreme end. Now just imagine a bandit being hungry. He will turn into an animal. The horror movie has not yet started. These are just trailers we are watching. Zambia the mediocre country!
Correction… This is just but the beginning.
When we told you that PF government sprang up from thuggery and deception of late Michael Sata, PF cadres protested aggressively calling us names. Remember late Michael Sata with vile woman called Nakawala, a current version of Mumbi Phiri’s toxicity. Jerabos are a version of PF thuggery culture. That’s how boastful Kambwili got part of his wealth including the sale of Luanshya railway line. Kambwili is an epitome of Jerabos. Remember his eulogy at the funeral of one of them. Today he boasts around after plunder and stealing all over. PF government glorify thuggery and stealing and cerebrate deaths by blaming it onto others. How can a group of thugs in broad day light begin to take over a mine plant. It has happened before, when the cake is not shared properly, ask Kambwili.
The uncivilised statements on this blog are appalling to say the least. Do we have people in Zambia who can train others in blog etiquette. Others use vulgar language, others do not even understand the topic at hand, others have turned every thing political even where unnecessary, others are debating on political lines removing all objectivity from their thinking. We need editors who can filter out trash from blogs.
@Mutale
We actually need editors who can filter people like you who doesn’t understand what we currently passing through in Zambia…
Social media websites are no longer performing an envisaged function of creating a positive communication link among friends, family and professionals. It is a veritable battleground where insults fly from the human quiver damaging lives, destroying self esteem and a person’s sense of self worth.
Especially Zambia’s social media. God have mercy on so called christian nation. No wonder Genesis 6:5.
This is what happens when you have a reactive government nothing works. Be proactive.
These are criminals/thugs, losers who should not have a name tagged on them. calling them Jerabos is legitimising their existence and approval of the gang culture. degenerated governance at its grand climax!
Let the Jerabos and police both hang. Release innocent HH and allow him freedom.
There is too much lawlessness in this country. Look at our once beautiful cities, vendors everywhere. thieves stealing car parts are freely displaying and selling them on the streets, carders are grabbing land from rightful owners and even allocating plots in grave yards. what is becoming of our once beautiful country? High profile criminals are getting away with it provided they align themselves with the ruling party.
The big question is “How best can we solve this problem?” Zambians stop yapping and face this issue head on because this is a matter of national concern. Be part of the solution and if you don’t have anything to talk about, you better keep quiet.
The jeraboz were busy with dununa reverse, see now! Sad for the loss, anyway.
These people were abused by PF and now they are useless, KCM are equally illegal miners! Legal doesn’t mean right, they do lots of underhand tax evasions and these same iddtiots know this!
One day, people will demand for what is rightfully theirs, as God given! There are no jobs in Zambia!
At one time I was entering Kitwe as the Republican president was exiting to go and catch the cahallenger jet in Ndola. Believe you me at the end of the police motorcade there was another motorcade of jerabos. They escorted the president up to The Nkana East/Nkana West junction. The late Kalobwe was there in his ill gotten Hummer dressed like a Bin Ladden disciple. What do you expect?
Cage Sparks in Chingola and illegal mining in Chingola will be more than halved. The boy is the sponsor and beneficiary of most of the illegal mining in Chingola.
Many years ago, we were informed that the large mine damp in Nkana contained lots of copper and cobalt because old mining techniques did not extract all the minerals. A suitable company was identified to transport the raw damp to Chambeshi Refinery for further extractions employing modern engineering processes.
Unfortunately, political appeasement set in to allow every Jim and Jack to mine from the damp. This again gave birth to the phenomenon of “THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST”built into the JERABOS. This is a phase when the rail line from Ndola to Luanshya was ripped off. With mining extending to North-Western Province Government must be firm to root out the creature called Jerabos who never pay Tax. Parliament must not be the hide-out for wrong doers.
Those who live by the sword; will die by the sword….
As usual, a very simplistic view of the fiasco by the powers that be and some bloggers. Merely stating that these are criminals that need to be dealt with the use of the strong hand of the law, shows the inability to assess the underlying factors. What has happened to the social economic fabric of the region in the last two decades or so? What current conditions have made it worse and have triggered this rudimentary ‘fight back’ to try and take control of resources perceived to be one of the survival conduits? The mines, their control and need for an equitable distribution of resources are in a mess. Only those who can use their positions are benefiting. The youth are frustratingly dis-empowered and families are at their tithers end in looking after the unemployed.