Thursday, March 28, 2024

No student died in recent CBU riots – Vice Chancellor Ngoma

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CBU Vice Chancellor Naison Ngoma
CBU Vice Chancellor Naison Ngoma

Copperbelt University Vice Chancellor Naison Ngoma has said no student died as a result of the recent riot that occurred at the University.He said the University is dismayed with reports suggesting that about 12 CBU students have died following the riot at the University. Professor Ngoma has called on people behind the fake news to desist from spreading rumours which could cause chaos at the university.

Meanwhile,the Copperbelt University has with immediate effect dissolved the Students Union executive following riotous activities by students over delayed meal allowances.Professor Ngoma said it is unacceptable for students to become agitated and violent over meal allowances.

Professor Ngoma said the University made it clear to students before enrollment that Government will provide the allowances subject to the availability of funds.He told ZNBC News in an interview that the decision to dissolve the Union was reached after he held a meeting with Union leaders who failed to discourage their members from riotous behavior.

48 COMMENTS

    • Can someone help me understand something, how do you enrol a student at a university and tell them that your student allowance for food, books and projects will be paid to you subject to availability of funds??? So the student stops eating etc until the money is available???

      Am i so dull that i don’t get it????

    • Koswe Muli Mpoto is even stealing money meant for students allowances.

      When Lungu wants to go for foreign trips, money is always available. But for hospitals, students, its stories.

    • “STUDENT LOANS”, IS THE ANSWER TO ALL THESE PROBLEMS CONCERNNG STUDENTS, THE GOVERNMENT AND UNIVERSITIES ADMINISTRATIONS. WHAT THE HELL THE DECISION MAKERS ARE WAITING FOR BOGGLES MY MIND. STUDENT LOANS WILL INSTILL A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY IN STUDENTS THEMSELVES. NO STUDENT WILL EVEN WANT TO WASTE ANY TIME ON ANY FORM OF RIOTING WHEN HE/SHE KNOW SHE HAS TO FINISH HIS/HER PROGRAMME IN ORDER NOT TO ENCUR ANY EXTRA FORM OF LOAN

  1. This is another ‘koswe muponto’ who needs to go and do something else he has clearly failed to run the university…

  2. So the government cannot affford to pay for meals, Tell IMF that . No availability of funds for the future leaders of zambia but $42 million for fire trucks
    Welcome to zambia the real africa

  3. Whether a student died or not still cannot take the away the fact that police aggressively attacked the students at CBU. If anybody saw the images of the students that were beaten, one would agree that those students will live with those (permanent) marks for the rest of their lives. I am a former CBU student myself and I have seen police brutality with my own eyes. It is time the roles and responsibilities of police officers were reviewed and redefined. There is need to protect individuals that are attacked by the men and women in uniform. No one is above the law and as such all the police officers that were involving in beating up students at CBU should be brought to book.

    • You have condemned the Police but you have not shared your views about the riotous behavior of students. Not mentioning damage they cause to private property.

    • kci – He has also failed to mention the people spreading rumors about the death of a student. He seems to be unhappy that no student died.

  4. The issue is not more about whether or not a student died. The issue is use of brutal force against unarmed students in the night for that matter. It is undeniable that barbaric force was used on the defenseless children. Girls were raped. Who authorized use of such brutal force and rape against children? Who were the officers involved? To just gloss over these heinous crimes, as Prof Ngoma has done, rubbishing the crimes as fake news, if highly irresponsible on the his part. Whether or not a student died, that is another story, but there is evidence here-shown of a student barbarically assaulted by the police. Any reasonable parent, would have expressed remorse and shame that such thuggery happened within his charge. I am so disgusted by Prof Ngoma’s lack of shame and remorse

  5. He doesn’t speak like a Vice Chancellor. He sounds like a Spokesperson for a Political party. I am sure he was told what to say because an educated Vice Chancellor cannot say things like this. And how do you run an institution by telling students that you’ll get meal allowances as funds become available. How can you eat only when funds are available?

    • CBU provides services, tuition and lodging; GRZ pays for these services through bursaries awarded to students which vary in quantity from 50% to 100%. The VC is merely stating the fact that GRZ has reneged on the timely payment of the bursaries to students

  6. As a former UNZA students.. both Bachelors and Masters, I will always stand by the police. Its never easy controlling unruly students. I remember fighting battles with police during our time with Antonio. Stoning almost everything including vehicles for the people that actually pay taxes… the BC we were getting. If you think police will meet such with kid gloves.. you must be joking.. An African child omfwila kunkanda… Its easier to speak from the comfort of your bedrooms.. police should have used rubber bullets.. In fact why should we worst money procuring rubber bullets to be used on senseless riotous student.. Police are mandated to use a most cheaper and effective means of crowd dispersal… including imbama!!!!!

  7. They asked for it… Who told them to riot…? How many people is going without salary even after working..? Talk of council workers, but do not riot…but student just sitting and doing nothing and you want to be given cash freely…. mwe fipuba mwe!!! I ma suffering here from 0600 hour with a wheel-bar just make ends meet!!! Mwanya bakoswe… and they deduct from my little earning to feed you..

    • There was no riot, a protest and riot and two different issues here. Can the VC mention any damaged property or person? Why should GRZ pay lecturers only after a strike? why should they pay meal allowances only after a protest? If GRZ was someone who only responds with a whip, what he or she be called?

    • Constitution allows people to demostrate if they wish to express their concerns. If the students demonstrated, it was fine provided there was no violence and property destruction. CBU VC hasn’t demostrated good leadership for a long time. He seems to be like a cadre of the PF. If it is true that the students were followed around 01:00hrs when there was calm at the institution, then the police were very unprofessional and needed to be disciplined.

  8. A Bursary or a Scholarship at the University is not a right but a privilege anywhere in the world…So these our children must be educated by us the parents when sending them at these higher Institutions of learning in Zambia concerning the same…

  9. What has happened to the Student Loan Scheme? Govt should stop the bursary scheme for students but introduce a revolving Loans scheme where students get loans from designated commercial banks which they have to pay back when they start working. The TPIN could be used as a proxy social security number to track students for repayments since loan disbursements would be through bank accounts. . This will bring to an end the student food riots. we are available to offer free consultancy services to govt mwebantu imwe! This idea was mooted along time ago but where are we? still at committee or subcommittee level. let us be serious

  10. LT why do I get this on browsers on mobile and laptop; “400 Bad Request
    Request Header Or Cookie Too Large
    nginx/…”

    • @HH Oval head – Who have I insulted? Give me names and I will give reasons why I have called them that…
      At least I have no time to hack into LT and temper with the silly “vote up and down” like you who is obsessed with it.

    • @Jay had the same problem and it happens a lot with CNN too . I was told that it is caused by corrupt cookies , whatever that is, and you solve it by clearing the cache for that site , whatever that is again. How you do it on the phone ..kaya ..ask expects here..all the best

    • @MMD Chief Bootlicker – I don’t know how much time I have done that on mobile to the point where I have stopped visiting this particular site on my mobile device. On Laptop, I have cleared the chrome cache several times still problem persists.. I can only visit via explorer which is slow!!

  11. Sensible students stay away and
    f.oo.ls damage innocent peoples property. The death of anyone at CBU is nothing ba Police well done infact Kanfinsa should have been used they are exparts in public order maintainance. Follow the established channels or get your bones broken

  12. It is beyond belie that there is money for Koswe mu Mpoto to go wondering about chris crossing Africa attending every event but there is no money to pay students meal allowances . What is even annoying was seeing Lusambo lying to the nation that no student was beaten up by the PF police .After videos imaged ,they changed their goal post talking about this .

  13. It is beyond belief that there is money for Koswe mu Mpoto to go wondering about chris crossing Africa attending every event but there is no money to pay students meal allowances . What is even annoying was seeing Lusambo lying to the nation that no student was beaten up by the PF police .After videos imaged ,they changed their goal post talking about this . CBU deserves better than this clue less government .

  14. Cash-strapped PF now desperate to grab pocket change, however small, and from whatever source, even if out of the pockets of students. How sad this development – so unpalatable, it causes heartburn and stomachache.

  15. These are students who have been given a bursary by the govt which is its responsibility and students need not have to work to get it. You seem not to understand that education holds the key to economic development and the govt needs to do more to find ways of funding the education sector. Ask any developed country, they will tell you that their countries were not developed by wheel barrow pushers and street vendors. Street vending only becomes the main source of income in failed economies.

  16. Every day that passes the PF gives us proof why they should not be voted in power ever again! Look around, what are they running smoothly to warrant even i vote from the people??
    -Agriculture inputs, its like the president is scared of the minister in-charge,ever talking no action. January is round the corner NO D-compound fertilisers for the farmers.
    -We have the transport minister who thought it wise in his own right to literally slow the economy by restricting movements of cargo only to realise after seeing the effects at year end.
    -This higher education minister failing lamentably to address the students over what belongs to them.
    -Home affairs minister and his police brutality

  17. It is really depressing to read some of the so-called reasoning comments here. For as long as the system hasn’t been changed yet, the position is that there is a bursary that includes meal allowances. Even in some of the developed countries, aside from repayable loans, lots of students have had grants to help with their living costs. In Zambia, the failure to meet the obligation has been a perennial issue. Govt. always claims there was no dialogue – there are always overtures to the authorities for the allowances to be paid before any rioting. I don’t support wanton destruction of property, but I wholesomely condemn the brutality of an overzealous unprofessional police that is a tentacle of the primitive clueless party in power. Money is collected but embezzled and channelled to useless…

    • I wonder what government business Bowman went to do in Samfya, Luapula province & yet there are so many other PF appointed officials to look after that part of the world!

  18. Rioting is stone age reaction.When the allowances are delayed, ask your parents to supplement for a short while. So when you break or damage other people’s property, does it raise your status in society? If my own son was involved I would seat him down and tell him that he was only lucky to be at the university because there are many more out there who might have done even better than him but are not so lucky to secure a place. Mostly those from the well to do family are responsible for the stupid actions because most are not upright characters but a few. I have cousins whose parents had everything that a child needed at any given time but in the end the same got spoiled and are only useful as examples of foolish men.

  19. Watch-out Vice Chancellor Naison Ngoma. You look hungry, don’t you? It’s possible this PF government is not paying you too. How sad.

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