Three police officers from Mpongwe police station are in critical condition at Mpongwe Mission Hospital after being severely beaten and left for dead during a riot that erupted in Kalukwiso area, Mpongwe district.
Also badly injured was a farm manager, Mr. Kabisa, who was rushed to Nampamba Clinic for medical attention.
The Radio Mpongwe team that arrived at the scene found a vehicle belonging to farm owner Clayton Jones burned to the ground, while squatters waited for Copperbelt Permanent Secretary Lawrence Mwanza to address them.
The unrest began when Mpongwe police set up a camp to enforce a court order evicting squatters from the farm. However, the squatters, who felt harassed by Jones, believed that the government was not doing enough to protect them and decided to take matters into their own hands.
Some squatters argued that the land had been legally obtained through traditional leadership, questioning why the government was not offering them protection. Many expressed feelings of fear and insecurity, comparing their situation to being under colonization.
In response, Copperbelt Permanent Secretary Lawrence Mwanza acknowledged the issue, assuring that the government was working to resolve it in accordance with the law. He urged the squatters to refrain from taking the law into their own hands and warned that those responsible for the violence, including the burning of property and assaulting officers, would face legal consequences.
It is always Chieftainess Malembeka trying to grab land to sell to unsuspecting charcoal burners. The land in Mpongwe and some areas where she purports is hers is becoming a desert. All trees are gone. The land given to her as per tradition is not for sale, but that’s all she does. SELL LAND. Are chiefs supposed to sell land? She is the worst land criminal in Zambia. She needs to be hauled to court and be thrown into jail and throw away the keys.