A Barotse national has called upon His Majesty the Litunga of Barotseland, Lubosi Imwiko II and the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) to travel to Lusaka and speak to the Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the church and the Commonwealth Secretary for the unconditional release of Mr. Afumba Mombotwa and all other Barotse activists currently serving prison sentences in Zambia over Barotseland related matters.
In a letter addressed to the Litunga through The Barotseland Post Editor, the anonymous Barotse national bemoaned the lack of forum for the free expression of what he termed ‘deep frustrations’ of the people of Barotseland without heavy handed Zambian state reprisals.
“Therefore, I wish to use this platform [Barotseland Post] to call upon His Majesty the Litunga, King of Barotseland, to come to Lusaka and speak to the Commonwealth Secretary General and to the President for the release of all incarcerated Barotseland Activists,” passionately appealed the anonymous Lusaka based Barotse national.
He further called on the BRE to travel with the Litunga to demand for the unconditional release of all the arrested Barotse people just like others have done for Mr. Hakainde Hichilema and some UPND members, using various interest groups such as the church, civil society and international organizations.
The Barotse national, who blamed the current agitations for an independent Barotseland on the despicable poverty, high unemployment levels and other socio-economic ills, said it was very depressing to see what had become of the once thriving Barotseland which was arguably the first to experience modernization, industrialization and western civilization in the now republic of Zambia and the larger part of the entire sub-region.
The letter is here below reproduced.
DEAR EDITOR,
When analyzing the situation in ‘Western Province’; the levels of unemployment, poverty and under development compared to what they were at the formation of the republic of Zambia, you realize that calls for the unconditional release of all currently incarcerated Barotse Activists in Zambian jails are well justified.
The injustice is too deep and humiliation so unbearable for Barotseland, a place that was once at the helm of modernization in the entire region; with western education, its historical contribution to both police services and defense forces in maintaining order, its participation in the first and second world war, and later its role in the independence of what is now called Zambia.
Yet what is now reduced to Zambia’s Western province has no industries, factories and has nothing except the Zambezi river and magnificent Barotse flood plains, whose fish is being depleted and timber trees indiscriminately cut.
Zambian government programs are not feasibly implemented year after year.
The smell and sight of poverty is at every gate, door, living room and bedroom. A large population is marginalized mainly because there is literally no employment. Those who finish Grade twelve studies disappear for Zambia’s capital city or the ‘richer’ Copperbelt in search of employment.
The majority of the population relies on subsistence fishing which earns them very low income. Further, the abrogating of the pre-independence Barotseland Agreement 1964 has over the years caused the high level of poverty. Therefore, the government of Zambia cannot justify their control of the ‘western province’. This is the driving force for the people to advocate for a separate country under its own government.
It is against this and numerous other factors that the people of Barotseland have risen to advocate for the Independence of the once autonomous territory.
They know that successive Zambian governments have not helped them.
Fifty three years after Zambia’s independence, Barotseland has no single public university or proper colleges for that matter, in spite of education as we know it today having started in Barotseland, the first in the sub-region, at the turn of the 20th Century.
Zambian government representatives and employees merely seem to work in order to earn their salaries with no real intentions or efforts to relieve the people from their burdens of poverty and injustice.
Worse still, there is no forum where the people could express their dissatisfaction and deep frustrations without being arrested. When election time comes, the people vote for and endorse promising candidates who conspicuously turn silent over Barotseland matters and do not deliver on their electoral promises once in government.
As such, I wish to use my right of expression and through this platform to call on our Litunga, the King of Barotseland, to come to Lusaka and speak to the Commonwealth Secretary General and to the President for the freedom of all incarcerated Barotse Activists.
The Barotse Royal Establishment should also travel to Lusaka to demand for the unconditional release of Mr. Afumba Mombotwa and all the arrested Barotse people like others have done for Mr. Hakainde Hichilema and some UPND members.
By Media Editor
Barotseland Post
Here we go this is what happens when people don’t want the law to take it’s course. That’s why sometimes the church need to keep quite and just pray. These people have put up the case why their people must also be released unconditionally. The church needed to support the law to try HH fully without any interference so cases like this one does not come up. As the case now the church Bishop Mpundu has no choice to but speak for these people for their release. Other families also that feel their members are in prisons must also come forward to have the relatives released unconditionally. It does not make sense to release one person while others are not. Please let’s allow the law to work in Zambia without interfering. We will burn the country down if we’e not careful
That’s why hh has to go back in prison. You can’t just release one when a lot of prisoners are innocent. These lozis deserved to be released than that buffoon who is not even appreciative.
Very funny, keep on dreaming it’s free. There’s nothing like Barotse national. You are just a Zambian from western province.
@1.1 oval pf cretin above. Kikikikiki. Do u have any case against HH for you to take him back to chimbokaila? Pathetic fo.olz indeed
PF cadres buffle me.They believe that the state has evidence that HH committed treason(TILIZONI).There is no evidence for treason charge .Of course Kaizer Zulu,Mumbi Phiri’Frank Bwalya and Kamba have overwhelming evidence for the TILIZONI charge
HH was not aquited but that the state discontinued the case in public interest. What dont you understand by that.
Kaongolo ka Nyambe unungu wa mataba ka bukuba maswe.
I rather ve these brothers from western province pardoned than having this criminal called hh released, please Mr President consider this plea,these people ve learnt their lesson consider their release sir
the problem we have at hand in zambia its the church ,it has gone political in the name of human rights as the other brother put it let bishop t mpundu do the same if really he didnt do that for his relative gbm to relies hh
Who arrested these people and when?
A valid point indeed: Release all prisoners of conscience in keeping with the spirit of EQUALITY OF ALL BEFORE THE LAW – rich or poor. Not only HH.
I however doubt the writers claim that WP remains neglected to date. This point could only have been true before Sata came to power and saw to it that the current infrastructure campaign reached WP as well. The marvelous Imwiko Bridge (Mongu-Kalabo bridge) is a sure example of that, as is the Mongu-Sesheke link road. Yes, more remains to be done but everything points to the fact that WP is rising with the rest of Zambia under the current administration.
Otherwise, point made on point one. But revise point two.
Can the President consider releasing the sex offenders too?. Most of the prison space at mukobeko is occupied by sex offenders. In USA the consent age for Sex is 12 years. Girls as young as 12 can marry. In moslem countries there’s no age restrictions. One can marry a girl at any age and wait for puberty for any conjugal rights. But to be in jail for 25 years for having sex with a 15 year old as it is Zambia is a bit harsh. Bishop Telesphore Mpundu, take up this task in your new role as negotiator of Prisoner releases.
@at dead man walking uzamangiwa ngati ufuna kuona ntweno ya kamwana ka 12 years. boma ni boma, uyu akainde tina mumvelelako ka Nolle but kimalozi we are considering the matter too. We are a listening Government