54 people accused of pushing for the secession of Western province from Zambia charged with treason

By
editor
-
96
1185
File:Police officers in riot gear aboard a van going to quell riots in Mongu.
File:Police officers in riot gear aboard a van going to quell riots in Mongu.
File:Police officers in riot gear aboard a van going to quell riots in Mongu.

POLICE in Mongu have charged 54 people accused of pushing for the secession of Western province from Zambia with treason.
The ‘dissidents’ were initially charged with seditious practices and possession of seditious materials, which has been substituted with treason.

Western province commissioner of police Lombe Kamukoshi, who confirmed this in an interview from Mongu yesterday said the police consulted the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on the matter.

The number of suspects has risen from 47 to 54 following the arrest of seven more suspects in Kalabo and Sesheke on Thursday and Friday last week.

Two weeks ago, the suspects staged a protest after police thwarted their move to hoist a flag. They swore in the “administrator-general” Afumba Mombotwa who is still on the run.

“We have charged all the suspects with treason after we consulted the DPP. We have revised the charge,” she said.
Ms Kamukoshi said police received fresh instructions from the DPP to charge the suspects with treason.

She said all the suspects will appear in court on September 3, 2013.

On the seven suspects who were arrested between Thursday and Friday, Ms Kamukoshi said four were arrested in Sesheke and three in Kalabo.

Among those arrested is publicity secretary of the Linyungandambo association in Sesheke Alick Mahongo, 36.
Others who were arrested in Sesheke are Oliver Songa, 34, Chunga Suba, 21, and Enock Sindoyi, 23.
From Kalabo, Nosiku Liamba, 33, an employee of African Parks, Cliff Mumbula Mutukwa, 41 and Simasiku Walubita, 50 were arrested.

She said Mahongo, who was hiding at the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church camp meeting in Sesheke, was found with seditious material.

“We picked him [Kaliki Mahongo] from the SDA camp with seditious material and an identity card for the Linyungandambo group,” she said.

Ms Kamukoshi said Liamba had been on the police wanted list for a long time on offences related to the activities of the Linyungandambo.

Recently, Western province permanent Secretary Emmanuel Mwamba warned that government was monitoring the “big fish” connected to Barotseland who are operating websites and generating seditious materials and that the net will soon close in on them.

96 COMMENTS

  1. What do you expect when you negect a whole province largely due to its tribal composition? Amalozis will feel like seceding just bcoz they don’t get their fair share and they can’t even dream of a Lozi president of Zed.

    • Never thought people from that country should be Zambians, they are darker than the average Zambians, eat crocodiles, are pretty much a pain in the …
      And are one tribe that your aunt or uncle once whispered you once to never get married to because of their bizarre cultural affiliations

      Why do we keep arousing their ego?

      Thanks

    • One of the reasons why Western Province has lagged behind in development is that the Lozis have never accepted to live with other tribes.This has been going on for a long time resulting in most people from other tribes shunning or refusing to go and work or settle there.I was once appointed to go and work in Mongu and after consultations I was told that the Lozis will not accept me to live and work in Mongu because I am from another tribe and I turned down the appointent.They should blame themselves for the underdevelopment in western province.There are also very few Lozis in Engineering and other fields.It seems most Lozis only want to be Lawyers or policemen.You can tell this by the names of most police camps in urban areas.

    • This is what they deserve for (i) allowing themselves to get tricked, and (ii) for playing to the the gallery when MMD slapped the exact same charge on 9 (not 52) of them in 2011.

      I hate gullable dull people who so easily get tricked. I love Nick and I’ll return to him when he starts making some money.

      Thanks.

    • Mushota, I am Lozi and I am far much lighter than you. Who is the average Zambian anyway? Is it Kambwili or Mukanga or Panji|? If these represent what passes for light skin in Zambia then indeed as a Lozi I am not an average Zambian!

    • @What a life, you’re really an arse hole with a lot of theories about Lozis. Since Lozis are not actually a tribe can you be specific about the over 25 tribes in Western Province that didn’t want to work with you? Can you tell us one actual documented case where a person was stopped from getting a job either in govt or private sector? Bigots like you always have ready made theories about other tribes, religions or races. Stop hiding behind the anonymity of the computer and spewing trash. The same goes to the id.iot called Mushota who stupidly believes that she’s lighter than Lozis, really? Bigotry does make people stupid!

    • @What a life!! You are a liar and you do not know what you are talking about. I am not Lozi and I have lived in Mongu for a long time and I enjoy good relations there. Check your mental status and you will discover it is you who has a problem.

    • @What a life, you are a liar. Honestly there has never been a case where anybody was refused to work in Western province. Please people stop this bulls..hit. You are a fool to turn down that fake job on the basis of a rumour.
      The lack of development people are complaining about are the lack of roads because without roads no business ventures can be attracted to invest. The last time I looked it is the GOVERNMENT that builds roads. And the same govt that has been complaining about the ‘high cost’ of building roads in western province because of sand and water! And so your bulls …hit about policemen , lawyers and lack of Engineers is just bulls …hit! Can you tell us which ‘tribe’ has a lot of Engineers who have gone to build roads, hospitals and schools in their province?

    • @Mushota, since when did Lozis start eating crocodiles? Honestly some of you people are very sick in your heads. Is it so difficult to oppose something or someone without going into diatribe and manufactured “truths”? Why do you have to lie to make a point? If you’ve this morbid hatred of Lozis why the hell do you want them to be part of Zambia?
      I suppose when you Nick dies , Mushota ba ka mupyanika! And that’s culturally revulting to other cultures!

    • Which fair share? So you want Renaid the coach to get Lozis in the team blablabla !!
      They gotta just be more inclusive and accepting of other peoplle. ozis are actually the most closed and selfish grouping in the country.If they dont open up , too bad , The world will pass them by. Failing to acknowledge your weaknesses strenghthens the enemy. Wake up and join the world

    • Mushota honestly which Lozi guy would even think of marrying a witch like you? Besides not even your tribesmen have bothered hooking up with you. You’ve been reduced to worshipping a white man by the name of Nick who may or may not be real. You’re a loser who wants to feel relevant by boasting about things that cannot be proved one way or another because cyberspace by its very nature is anonymous!

  4. But are the people arrested Zambians or Barotses? Wjhat if they have renounced their Zambian citizenship and reverted to that of Barotseland? Wouldn’t the Zambian authorities committing an extra-territorial infringement in light of the defunct Barotseland Agreement 1964 which had sought to annex the Barotseland nation to become a state of the Zambian nation?

    • Iyo mulibawelewele, When did Western Province become an Independent country?
      They need to fight for their so called independence from Namibia and Angola first before claiming it from Zambia.

    • International lawyers will have a field day in court. This may be a positive for the Barotseland separation activists, rather than a negative. In court, you have certain privileges. You can say that which is an offense outside court. Lutalimela feela.

    • @Msana Wanzili, use your brain to think and not your backside, you moron! Why should they seek independence from Angola and Namibia? Are they in Namibia or Angola? Did the leaders of Angola and Namibia append their signatures on the Barotse Agreement?. Your dullness is nauseating ! What an id.i.ot!

  5. This is a moment of truth. The rule of law may be unpleasant but jungle law is worse. If found guilty, then the only one who can exercise clemency is President.

  6. Cage these cave men and throw away the keys. these idiots are very difficult to please no matter what u do as govt. I have worked in that province and all they do from morning is prostitution, beer drinking and bickering. these are very lazy chaps with no business to point at. the only people doing business in that province are people from NW.

    • There you go! If you have such bigoted feelings about them why do you want them to be part of your country? Are you a bipolar moron?

    • They want their country back. They only became Zambians through a legal agreement. An Agreement that the Zambian govt abrogated in 1969. Just prepare for their break away. This so called treason trial has just made that possible!

  9. Why is it that Bemba’s feel more Zambian than the rest? Most of the stupid comments are from Bembaland. Time of reckoning will soon come.

    • You should be able to stick to the issue at hand and not always Bemba this or that. Take care of your mental health lest you burst a nerve in your cranium.

    • I also find the childish, uninformed comments irritating. Much as we should stick to the case in discussion, we should desist insulting or ridiculing others. This land belonged to the Bushmen, but bushmen do not insult us everyday. Each bantu grouping that settled here captured land from the earlier settlers.

  11. No need for treason. sta lied to them. dialogue with them because the real peaple behind their plan are still in government.

    • Nobody lied to anybody. They did what they did out of their own choice. If i lie to you it does not give you the right to break the law. There are thousands of ways to air grievances and they just had to choose one of the worst kind. Most of those arrested do not even have passports or financial means to travel to other countries to seek asylum. What they did was plain old stupid. In Zambia we have seen worse. We had Mushala’s uprising but he just ended up killing innocent people in NW Province. His message was heard by he lost his life. His junior Saimbwende also tried and lost his life. Zambia is still here. So we shall forget about the Lozi uprising and these 57 people. Kozo mwamatoya ni mwamushabati.

  12. “Mamen” its because they don’t advocate for secession. they believe there is only one Zambia and that is called patriotism satana iwe.

    • let the govt just give them what they want. What will it lose by giving away one province? they want to rule themselve so be it. And this time they are just asking for western province and not the other provinces that are part of barots….is that too much to ask? let them go.

  14. Suppose they say they are not Zambians? Suppose they maitain that they are Barotses? what happens then? and suppose they prove that the BA64 was abbrogated in 1969 and therefore they are not Zambians because there is no longer such agreement and that because of that they are Barotses. Wont this case open up a can of worms?

    • Zambians are very dull. Wait and see how this ‘treason trial’ will progress. Lozis should use it as a weapon to take these maggots to the cleaners. Kaunda should be called as a witness to explain himself. The AU and UN have both said there’s already a prima facie case against the Zambian govt. This is the oxygen of publicity that the pro independence Barotses needed!

  15. Are these the same people he released soon after stealing the presidency? I remember Ukwa and Fred putting more fuel on the Barosteland fire when RB was president. The Pfost was full of Barotseland stories especially featuring the old Ngambela Mutukwa. We were shown RB’s cruelty with stories of people being detained far from their homes etc, Now these same people claiming what was promised to them are charged with treason? In fact I am sure PF played a part in the riot that took place in Mongu to discredit RB. All Bembas then were very sympathetic to the Barotseland cause and joined Lozis in calling RB a dirty Nyasalander – today the Bembas are at the forefront of insulting Lozis!

    • Imagine, that is inhumane…………………. they never asked for it ……..he made that promise himself. He lied to them in broad daylight so he could get votes, which is not right when he knew quite well that the barot….. is very sensitive and the people affected were still licking their wounds.

  16. I guess the defence team will use footage of Ukwa saying that the Barotse agreement is valid as well as Ukwa’s command for soldiers to shoot Lozis as their defence.

  17. “Let them fight. We will host the refugees”. As our president Sata said during a SADC heads of State summit.

  18. Thanks to the editor of LT for balancing the comments. This same article in the WD has one sided comments as if it’s written by liyungandambo. By the way who owns and controls WD?

  19. What a Life, you are definitely a very insincere person. Which of the two languages dominates the blogs between silozi and icibemba? Try to be truthful and honest for once. From your tone of voice one gets the impression you do not want to coexist with Lozis. Yours is a rider and the horse kind of language.

    Anyway, there are more credible and competent people in govt to deal with the issue at hand, not your type. You would just cause unnecessary strife, and, perhaps even death. You sound so unZambian.

    • Respect the same law you abrogated? They are no longer part of your country because KK urinated on the agreement that made that area part of Zambia.

  21. The comments here on LT are not balanced. They are not even reflecting the views of the govt. They are just tribal sentiments. You would think you are hearing Shaka’s zulus facing the ndwandwes or Hitler’s Nazis talking about the jews. There was Lenshina in Bemba land too, and of course Mushala and Saimbwende in NW. Thank govt Zambian political leaders always use wisdom in dealing with such issues, otherwise our beloved Zambia would have already experienced a hot civil war. Come on PF, we believe you are above tribalists. Shame them by dealing with the issue from a legal point.

    I have not read the ZWD since I have no access.

  23. The problem is not those who want secession from Zambia but the one who promised to give them the Baros agreement of 1964 in 90 days. This is where the problem rise from. This was well handled from previous governments because they never cheated the people of western province. The other thing is, why is it that now all of a sadden Muchinga province is receiving more attention and funding than anyother province in this country; and why is that Bembas always want to be presidents when they join politics, when someone else from some other tribe comes up to go for presidency they short him down with their tribe tag or call him riffraf?

    • You seem not to want the truth. Bembas are simply courageous, forthright and able to put their case straight. I would rather work under a Bemba than a Lozi. Please take sa survey of plces like Indo Bank eg once managed by a Lozi. Almost everyone in that bank is Lozi, if luck a Tonga !! Find out how Zambia Ceramics under AKA collapsed. (*% of personnel was Lozi. Almost did it with Zambia sugar were the ‘only’ people to cut cane were Lozis.
      Talk about Lozi politicians Sakwiba Sikota is there. Its not Bembas who stop you from politics. Like it or not Zambian independence was worn primarily though Bemba fighting .

    • Zambia Ceramics? And who was managing ZCCM when it collapsed? Wasn’t it a gang of Luapulans and Bembas like Francis Kaunda, John Chileshe, Malama etc.? Who was managing NIEC, ZSIC, Kapiri Glass, Lenco, National Hotels Development Corporation? And by the way Zambia Sugar has never been managed by Lozis. Why don’t you ask the whites who are running it why they like employing Lozis? Besides isn’t the PF a tribal govt? Tell us who is running most of the parastals and who appointed them? Gosh some of you have no shame with the rubbish you write!

    • @kim, your comment only serves to portray you as the chief tribalist that you truly are. You closing your posting by suggesting that our independence was worn because of Bemba fighting without giving examples of where and when such fighting took place. Do not mislead people with such hallucinations not backed by any research at all.

  25. Most of the conflicts in Africa are caused by people in the diaspora.Mali was divided for a short time.The guy who announced the break up was in UK.What ever crap they feed on in the diaspora makes them think they have powers to write to the UN,AU e.t.c in the comfort of their homes abroad.A simple jobless youth in Zambia is used to advance the views of someone across the oceans.

  26. You have the rightv to use any language that suits the moment. It’s your human right. And do not allow anyone to take it.

  28. the difficulty of a bad marriage is always terrible. this is proof.

    I see problems coming in Zambia.

    People just don’t learn, they never do. How many people are we going to arrest?

  29. CUT OFF THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE AND THE THE REST OF THE BODY WILL BE USELESS SO GO AHEAD AND CAGE THOSE DELUDED CHAPS AND MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF THEM! VIVA ONE ZAMBIA

  30. CAN SOMEONE PUBLSH THE BOUNDARIES OF THIS IMAGINARY BAROTSELAND COUNTRY. WE ALL KNOW THAT SOME PARTS OF BAROTSELAND ARE IN ANGOLA AND NAMIBIA.ARE THESE PEOPLE ALSO SENDING ASKING ANGOLA AND NAMIBIA TO GIVE UP THE LAND THAT THEY SAY BELONGS TO BAROTSELAND? KK,CHILUBA,MWANAWASA AND RB JUST IGNORED THEM.I SUGGEST SATA ALSO IGNORES THEM AND TREAT THIS CASE AS A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE NOTHING ELSE.THIS ISSUE IS BEING PROPAGATED BY SELFISH INDIVIDUALS WITH SELFISH MOTIVES !!! BE BRAVE,DRAW THE MAP OF BAROTSELAND AND PUBLISH IT SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE CLAMINING,OTHERWISE STOP INCITING INNOCENT PEOPLE TO REVOLT.THE YOUTHS SHOLD NOT BE USED TO START TROUBLE BECAUSE WHEN THEY ARE ARRESTED THESE COWARDS RUN AWAY!!

  31. @6.1 Lindwa za kala,so anybody who doe’snt agree with your views is a bipolar moron??usikuba wena utwile..!! The barotse issue is a serious issue where all well meaning westerners should fight for and this includes those with depression,bipolar and any other mental challenges. Check ur blogs before you wound the already wounded wena sikuba sakata:-(.

    • Ndate ni kupa swalelo! cwale nna ani boni zeni fosize. Ndate baala hande ze n’ozwi fa 6.

      6.1 ki kalabo yaka ku sitoto ya n’ozi fa 6. Kozo!

  32. but why cant we just allow them to go ahead. If they fail, we can still accommodate them. After all there is no economic activity that could be successful in Barotseland could be the poorest ‘state’ in s Africa

  33. I propose life… i know with treason comes death, but that would make them heros, please deal with them it’s high time people came back to civilization, anyone encouraginging civil war must not be spared, way to go the law must be respected period!

    • It is the Zambian State on trial. The Barotse Agreement was abrogated by the Zambian govt therefore the union between Barotseland and Zambia is over! The problem with you Zambians is that you take laws, agreements and constitutions very lightly. And this issue is going to bite you on your arses!

    • cindy stinks you would rather see people in arms running around advocating slaughter of anyone percieved to be zambian or stopping them from cindy stinks you would rather see people in arms running around advocating slaughter of anyone percieved to be zambian or stopping them from

      So iwe Zambian you would rather see Syria or Egypt in Zambia? Mind you thats how it starts, you are so ignorant you have no idea how powerfull such rantings and behaviour is capable of…… how do you think the wars in other countrirs began? you are busy supporting criminal acts because they are somehow connected, my dear if anyone in my family would call for bloodshed or war against my land, i would be the first one to report them, my message for you is to grow up be a dignified human being and stand for that which is right dont be a coward!

    • Dead heros bother no one. If they want to fight , please let them start and we shall DEFINATELY beat the hell out of them. They should not doubt our resolve

    • Dead heroes bother noyone, but they become champions. rallying points of any given struggle tha can become messy. Let’s comment responsibly.

  35. People I have ask this before can someone give me a link to the speech which President Sata made promising our dear brothers & sister the Lozi people

    • 1. Check The Post 8th January 2011.

      2. And go to Barotse Post website. There’s an audio recording of Sata’s campaign rally at which he announced that he was also a member of Linyungandambo and was in full support of the Barotse Agreement!

  36. It will be difficult to get sympathies from non lozi people on the issue of Barotseland, the issue of Barosteland is an issue that can only be resolved politically and not through mobs comprising all Zambian because of over the years, most of non lozi’s especially those born after independence have no idea that actually Barotseland had a special status among kingdoms within the Nyasaland & Rhodesia. Before independence, Lozis were not categorised as Northern Rhodesians in Africa they were categorized as Barotse nations while others from present day Zambia were categorized as Rhodesians; when Kaunda came into power, he played a memory trick by changing the name of Barotseland to Western Province leading to most people completely forgetting about the name Barotseland.

  38. Where love is we can’t be treating each other negatively the way we do. May love prevail everywhere on our land.

  39. Mang’ete tuni musibuleli what you don’t or understand why did you not gain independence without signing the agreement?.

  40. @Lindwa za kala, ok mukulwange u forgiven :-)i over reacted ,hope u know the saying ”when old bones are mentioned the old woman…;-)”lets fight for litunga lyeetu .

  41. If you love Zambia put your hands up. Am loving all your contributions guys. I wish all our leaders were like you seriously. The only thing that pains me is that this issue (tribalism) is everywhere in Africa and that is why we shall always be lagging behind the Western world in development. I mean you will all agree with me that in the UK or USA, policy makers or Civil servants will not think for a second that because they were born in the western, eastern, northern or southern part of their country they will only work with their fellow northerners or easterners. All they do is come together and develop their country as a whole… economically, financially, technologically and socially. I long for that time when Africa in general will be doing this. One love to you all.

Comments are closed.