The ruling Patriotic Front (PF) has said that it regrets the death of a University of Zambia (UNZA) who in a riot, which rocked the institution on Thursday night when one of rooms at the student’s hostels caught fire, as students and police fought running battles, from 22 hours into this morning around 01 hour.
In a statement released to the media, PF Secretary General Davies Mwila has called on upon the Police command to thoroughly investigate what exactly transpired and ensure that justice prevails.
Mr Mwila further appealed to the students populace to exercise maximum restraint as their Government has heard their cry and will respond accordingly, adding that rioting and disruption of public order is not the right way to express their grievances and that there were several progressive avenues available that students can and must use to express their concerns to management and government respectively.
Below is the full statement
1. On behalf of His Excellency President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front and indeed on my own behalf I would like to convey our deepest condolences to the family of Ms. Vespers Shimuzhila, a 4th year student in the school of education at UNZA who tragically died around this morning due to reported teargas suffocation in her room during the protest by students at UNZA great east road main campus.
2. It is deeply regrettable that such a young and promising life could be lost in an avoidable circumstances.
3. We call upon the Police command to thoroughly investigate what exactly transpired and ensure that justice prevails.
4. We wish to make a passionate appeal to the students populace to exercise maximum restraint as their Government has heard their cry and will respond accordingly.
5. We further want to remind our intellectuals that rioting and disruption of public order is not the right way to express their grievances. There are several progressive avenues available that students can and must use to express their concerns to management and government respectively.
6. Violent protests are retrogressive and counterproductive to the student’s cause. Violent “vivas”are a stain to our intelligentsia. Violent “vivas” steal away the trust, confidence and admiration that society places on your heads as intellectuals.
7. As a party, we are not naive to know the fact that there are irresponsible and unpatriotic political elements who unabashedly sponsor or aggravate students’ unrest for selfish political capital. And as a party in government we would like to caution the student populace not to fall prey to such machinations but to instead look at the greater picture and focus on their education.
8. Education is not only the best equalizer but it is the foundation and cornerstone of social and economic advancement.
9. Our commitment in the provision of quality and affordable education remain unrivaled. This can be attested by numerous schools, colleges and universities that we have built since coming into office in 2011.
10. I would like to end by assuring the students that your caring and patriotic government has heard your cry. Do not despair, remain calm and await government’s urgent response. To the family of our late daughter, our late sister and indeed our late comrade, Vespers, may healing hand of our Lord Jesus Christ console you in this hour grieve and pain. May Vespers’ soul rest in eternal peace.
Issued by:
Hon Davies Mwila
PF Secretary General
Party Headquarters
PF, regrets what of Government?
Either way RIP
Thanks
BB2014,2016
Every PF member including the Police and maybe the Fire service have told to peddle the fire story. To them the investigation is done like the DFID money. They “knew” where the money was and they know what transpired on that fateful night.
Where is the government? Shunning, running away from responsibility?
PF will regret the overall effects of their lack of vision and mediocre leadership and of course the effects of their chipantepante approach to governance. Someone serious about people’s livelihoods might even come in and put them all in jail. Samweni and keep making silly statements!!
There’s no Govt Mushota. PF gives commands to police. This is clear right here.
Is that why the sandpaper face was pushing in and saying that he is more senior that Cabinet Ministers? It’s regrettable that these guys in Government do not even know how government works.
You would think a responsible President not Lazy Lungu …he is cowering or looking at the calender for possible trips on Challenger or Private Jet.
PF is a failed self-enrichment project.
After stealing from social cash transfer money for blind pipo, widows & robbing citizens through expensive roads & fire engines, unfairly taxing them, indebting them, they’ve started killing them.
Condolences and S.R.I.P.
Students are dying, no funding and our ministers are in with increases back-dated from January. Sad indeed.
Should feel really ashamed, no wonder no one is commenting and left it to Davies.
Pathetic reporting.
Send Lungu to Hague
Sad! The government must shoulder the blame and compensate the family. UNZA must also grow up and not behave like a boy who NEVER grows up.
You can not compensate a lost life. Life is priceless. Why open a learning institution without the requisite resources? If you fail to provide their allowances at least provide food rations or send them back home.
The problem with riots is that it is the innocent who are usually on the receiving end. This student was most likely holed-up in her room thinking that that was the safest place for her. So, sad indeed. The culture of riots by Zambian students is really deplorable, and when combined with the unprofessionalism of our Police, it is a mess. MHSRIP – so sad, sincere condolences to the family and friends.
How do you chase students right into their halls of residents…Please sue these fooools.
@ abilima
why are you silent about political responsibility of this criminal act? Crocodile tears for the loss of innocent life whilst supporting ruling CRIMINAL GANG?
@just thinking…Ambilima has posted a very mature comment. Those of us who have been at UNZA can agree to his comment that when they are Riots at UNZA, the innocent students always become victims of police brutality. I don’t see anything wrong with his comment.
Police brutality 1st republic – Thanks a lot for coming to my defense. I thought I was there was some objectivity in my comment, but there will always be people who are so polarized. May be they never passed through UNZA. This is a really sad situation. Thanks.
This is all about Corruption. Corruption kills.
HH’s corruption has killed more Zambians than any other corruption known.
Sharon pleas don’t bring your mad rants about HH where people are mourning the death of a student….
Because it is UNELECTABLE I can’t talk?
as usual they blame political elements sponsoring riots. I suppose the police guy who fired the canister was also being used by political elements that want to tarnish the PF name. what a bunch of bollocks !
is it pf that murdered the girl
Or its govt. IG and AG are responsible.
How does lungu give guns to kampyongo
Ask kamyomo wht pf stands for
Ati dununa livesi
Donchi kubeba
Kukula ama flat wangu wangu(Thats kind of stories from these pf kadaz
Lazy Lungu is the Commander in Chief…he handpicks these incompetent fooooools
Lazy bum illiterate tribal hooligan bully son of a tribal polygamous father who never gave him toilet training pooping in public HAGAIN. Someone got a diaper?
I am glad Paradise Papers thief is not liked in Zambia therefore he is UNELECTABLE! He has THREE MANSIONS, one in Monze, one in Namwala and one in Kabulonga. I hope he will attend the prayer meeting so that someone can cast out the evil spirit.
Pretends to show sympathy, criticizes the students in the same vein and fails to condemn police brutality. What a b.ulls.hit statement – even issuing a veiled accusation of the opposition. Asking the Police to investigate themselves is a non-starter. This is where you need truly independent bodies – but then there aren’t any under this regime, are there?
There are means of condoning off an area when there is a riot without foolishly pursuing students who are in their rooms – as someone pointed out. Panicky desperate times. The other response is always ‘we have heard and shall attend to your grievances’, when they haven’t done anything for months!
Righteousness makes a nation great; sin is a disgrace to any people
If you have never been a UNZA student sponsored by 01, you will never understand. Not all protests are justified but this one was justified. In school, the safest place is your room. Just to save face, they are already promising paradise for now, We need independent investigator.
Just look at those condemning it on Facebook…their profile says it all…education states diploma holder or certificate.
You block all anti govt comment s and allow sharon be operatin on your behalf imwe ba LT.
You are deceiving PF
The goodness is the HAZALUZA HAGAIN. He is not mature enough. Very CHILDISH little boy. When you lose you concede. When the president motorcade wants to pass, you yield. When entrusted with public funds you remain faithful – no inside trading or money laundering or siphoning the loot to a tax haven. When invited to pray you come and you humble yourself before God. When in private life you do not own Three Mansions. When your people begin evoking tribalism, you denounce it. When you lose a few times you call for election for others to challenge your legitimacy. The little boy has a long way to go. A lot is needed for him to grow up!
Students have been trying and trying to get paid but all in vain and today ati avenues what nonsense. You i.diots are just murderers. And this is what you wanted. If you dont have the money for students and only money for yourselves to global trot and loot just kill all the students m******mwe!!!!
You are a disaster – mwanya!!!!
I feel your emotional pain especially that i was a UNZA student who almost suffered the same fate. Remember Zebra squad at High Court where one died as we were offering solidarity to some who are now senior police officers after the Chihana incident.
Meanwhile Lazy Lungu and ministers increased their salaries even backdated it.
To nine months.
If you had paid the students this would not have happened. The death of this student is on you PF that’s why you have rushed to issue a statement very quickly. Guilty conscious.
croccdile tears , you sent the police to go and kill and now they have done it you say you regret. what a shame.
Very sad development, I agree a thorough investigation should be done, otherwise parents will start fearing to send their children to Unza.
This is what happens when a clueless government use an heavy hand to suppress freedom expression and truth . The poor and powerless die .Kampyongo who was hand picked from Katondo street by a once struck off lawyer are busy increasing their salaries without bothering about meal allowances at UNZA .
So sad. She was such a cutie. I wonder what her parents are feeling. 4th year student sure?
Mwe mastudents; bakapokola.
Mwe Lesa!
*Sobs*.
People perish where there is no…
Just last week lungu spent $4 million on a useless trip to the UN to talk about Mandela while students are starving ???
First day as deputy IG and this happens, guess people are right that Kapeso is heartless. Question is who’s he trying to impress by giving orders to tear gassing students in their halls.
What holding up the impeachment process?
Biased Judiciary on the pay-roll of MURDEROUS CRIMINAL GANG
This is R.ubbish
If this is not the time to eventually say enough of this regime, I don’t know when it will be. With these heartless sycophants, we are sinking into further quagmire. There comes a time when enough is enough. Pathetic regime indeed! My blood boils. If yours doesn’t, in the face of such an atrocity, then your blood is yellow.
VERY BEAUTIFUL YOUNG TONGA /KAONDE GIRL MHSRIP ONE VOTE FOR UPND DOWN YABA REALLY SAD
Why is this statement coming from the party and not the government? Is this not confirmation that what we have is a PIG – Government of PF instead of Government of Zambia? And a caring republican president should speak out whenever such tragic things happen but it’s clear, he enjoys bloodshed! PF fingers are dripping with blood!
PF instigated, planed and executed murder of innocent girl. SHAME ON YOU!!!
Whilst stating “regrets” over MURDER of innocent student, Davies Mwila is advertising CORRUPT PEPSI which is beneficiary of GOVERNMENT SPONSORED TAX EVASION and $ 3 million interest free loan for ten years!!!
It is unfortunate that a life has been lost. Look, this has simply become a rite of passage for a UNZA student. It has gone on for as long as collective memory can remember without any improvement to the manner in which this is controlled. It is not about student protest – it is about contingent behavior of those that have power to quell such protests. At some point it has even become training ground for police recruits – what do you expect? Mwe mbwa mwe!