Northern Province Minister, John Chinyanta, has warned civil society organisations trying to incite the people in the province to join in “acts of lawlessness” over the acquittal of former President, Frederick Chiluba, that they will be dealt with harshly.
Mr Chinyanta has since ordered the police in the province to be on high alert and arrest anyone found abrogating the law.
He said government would not allow a situation where a few individuals hold the country to ransom by agitating for illegal demonstrations.
Mr Chinyanta accused the civil society organisations protesting against the acquittal of Dr Chiluba of having double standards as they initially complained against the prosecution of the former president.
The minister has advised people of Northern Province to denounce people who wanted to endanger the country’s peace through unjustified protests.
Mr Chinyanta urged Zambians to accept the verdict of the magistrates’ court over the acquittal of Dr Chiluba on corruption charges in order for the country to move forward with other pressing issues.
Mr Chinyanta further called on members of the public to respect the independence of the judiciary and stop issuing statements that infringe on its integrity.
Recently, 18 civil society organisations resolved to hold countrywide demonstrations over the acquittal of Dr Chiluba.
But last Friday, nine people, including two Patriotic Front (PF) Members of Parliament, were arrested and charged with conduct likely to cause breach of peace and unnecessary honking.
The two MPs, Jean Kapata and Mumbi Phiri, who were admitted to Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital (UTH) after they suffered hypertension while in police custody, have been slapped with three charges, including that of disorderly conduct at the police station.
The seven others, who were charged together with the MPs, have since been released after they paid admission of guilt fines.
ZANIS
This Minister is right. Zambians should learn to channel their complaints through proper laid down procedures
Fools, what can one expect from these puppets?? Just gabage coming from their foul mouth..
#, what you are ignorantly talking about as “proper laid down procedures” dont and have not worked in zed since 1991. Tell me how many cases have workers won by going along the laid down procedures for salary increments? zero and how have they won their salary increments, simply by going on strike so think again. No civil case has been won directly by allowing the flow along the so called laid down procedures. I bet you dont understand what BUREAUCRACY is when it comes to zedian public offices do you?
This fradulent acquital will cost Govt a lot of embarassment and donor aid.Just watch the space
#2 Hardnox.. who’s the puppeteer? Just because one is appointed a minister doesn’t make s/him a puppet. There has to be ministers. I wait to see which president will not have ministers that obey him! As for PF, this is unattainable. We have oredy seen will the ‘rebel’ MP’s. That was puppeteering at its best.
Even Obama, when choosing people in his govt, they had to choose those that either support his view point or are known to be independent but with an inclination to Obama’s view point. It’s not bootlicking and it’s not puppeteering. It’s teamwork. Pls understand matters in their correct contexts!
War is not the wost calmity that can before mankind—Total Government is!
War is not the wost calmity that can befall mankind—Total Government is!
What does RB himself say about the state of the nation. From the look of things, these things will cost him votes, even less than what he and MMD got last term. I hope he thinks.
What you are seeing in Zambia is the true manifestation of the life of RB he has now esterblished himself when people told you of how corrupt he was you never believed now see how he has messed the Nation
Imagine, RB can’t even say anything
Like it ot not, Friday chilelila bane!!!!!
#11 MAMA G do not waste your time honking as there are plenty of issues that these guys could have been championing. Chiluba is not an issue as they are trying to make it look. These crooked NGOs want the money spin wheel to continue rotating endlessly for their own good. There are a lot of Zambians who deserve representation on various issues. Honking could have made much sense if it related to:
1. The suspicious and costly NCC initiated by the lateÂ
2. Poverty stricken ZambiansÂ
3. Low standards of Education
4. Our poor health care system
5. Our poor road infrastructure network
6. etc
This Chiluba issue is taking us nowhere. Its simply a fight on behalf of certain individuals who have a BIG BONE to chew with Kafupi.Â
GRZ did not stop us when we demonstrated in support of the removal of FTJ’s immunity. Why not just declare Zambia communist.
Here we go again all goverment PR, media , warnings for Kafupi’s issues. RB you are the leader of Zambia . You need to tell your PR admin not to base your leadership on Chiluba issue. People will only remember your legacy with Chilubanism. Too much Chiluba gate in the news hijacking any positive message you have for Zambia domestically or internationally. Who is running Zambia Chiluba or Rbanda? This is disturbing…Let the people protest what has it got to do with RB govt unless …Chiluba is running the shots. God please help Zambia
FTJ was taken to the London court over corruption by the late LPM who died after a reoccurrent brain stroke, He was found guilty by the late Judge Smith who died of a heart attack, the case was being registered in the Zambian courts by the late judge Japhet Banda who died in a road accident at the time of these events the Chief of Police who was a member of the Task Force by virtue of his office was Wazakaza Nguni, he died in a road accident. It is not clear which judge is currently handling the matter if any. President Chiluba is a former President and an evangelist, he has repeatedly pronounced that he is a prophet standing on solid rock and that whoever fights his Godly ways shall be crushed. It is yet to be known whether his prophecies are true or are yet to occur.
#15Jesus died for every single human being on earth. REMEMBER God is the only author of life. Christians are actually not afraid of death as we are already dead to the world’s ways but alive in Christ Jesus. Jesus conquered the grave. My main message is you are putting Chiluba on a pedestal he is a human being like anyone on earth. He has no power over anyone’s life. One can be lawyer, evangelist, teacher , prophet, nurse or doctor. God loves you and protects you. There is nothing wrong with speaking up against injustices because Jesus Christ blood brought freedom. Hitler created injustices it does not mean people could not speak out.
The chiluba issue is not something someone can say is less important. It is important. You f o o ls are letting the MMD drown your country in corruptions and you sit there and say let it go! Pathetic Zambians wake up and defend your country even against the smallest thing like throwing gabbage on the streets! That thief Chiluba stole your money and the tax force wasted many to bring him to book then at the end of it R.B comes in and says its ok? What was the point of wasting so much money just to see the guy walk even when we all know that he stole, he was found guilty in england so no one can say that a$$ is not a thief! if you dont want the guy who stole your money to go to jail just shut up, because i do!
Since when did protesting against an anomaly become illegal? Mabenga and his cohorts demostrated in Mansa and no-one threw a tantrum. All we are saying is that we shall HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT on friday and we shall see how many policemen and women there will be on the streets of Zambia to contain the Tsunami. Reminiscent of 1991 for those of us who were there tefyo……………………Mubepele fye bangwele,limbi muchili mule-doubta bashetani!!!the people always win even when it is painstakenly slow. Tizamuonani!Actually, picture what will happen on saturday at Konkola stadium before and after the match. Bampombozi mukadibe (mukeete nabaku Kaoma,Choma and all the other Mobile Police units) sana tukamone nga nibanga mukekata!Actually we might not even HOOT, kumipunka fye
# 1, you’re out of touch. Red tape, bureaucracy, corruption and pure GREED is alive in Zambia whether you agree or not. As much as I detest what Chiluba and his flunkies did while in power, I will say this.This FTJ issue is and should be dead already. Like it or not, the ka bally was acquited, by the courts! Please, ALL you Zedians honking and everything, should just stopi it. # 12, you have the most valid point here. There are plenty of issues that need to be addressed that even deserve a march or two on the streets and even a protest. This Chiluba issue is just a waste of time. Get over it fellow country men and woman. Let us protest about government spending; let us protest about the lack of health care, jobs for college graduates, salary increament for health workers. Try that…..
And yes, just where is Kanitundila on this issue? Oh wait a minute, he’s been gone for a while and just returned home. So, by the time this all boils down, he’ll probably be on another government expensed trip to God knows where and for what. Ba President, please play your role…ok atleast for the remainder of your presidency. Just what are you honestly presiding over? Awe mwe bantu this is just a freaking circus.
#19 what you forget Kafupi is the image of corrupt MMD govt spending etc . You can not tell a worker to stop stealing chickens in the future from a farm when the owner stole the farm. How are you going to jail a person who steals a TV for 1 year when the one who stole a house has no sentence? How do you preach no corruption to future young generations when past corrupt leaders at the top do not have to account for anything. Leaders lead by example and courts have to apply the same law for everyone. What the law abiding citizen is experiencing is injustice….. The ruling of the chicken thief should also be applied to the one who steals the farm. They call that justice. Nothing to do with hating a person or lingering in the past. If you sow in crime you can reap prison.
# 21 that’s exactly my point. According to your anology, how does the owner steal from his own farm? Either he owns the farm or not and not the worker. How is honking and whistling bringing about the justice you so eloquently talked about? The sad reality is that, Zambian politics are not what you and I may call “fair.” I will never condone most of MMDs ideologies. The process of transitioning from the socialist (almost dictatorship) type KK regime to a so called democratic FTJ Zambian government was exciting in 1991. Like back then, change of mentality should be just as important as change of leadership. To answer your other question, yes, this shake down has to start from the top (RB) down the line. Zambians have every right to protest but let it be about issues that have substance.
Quite frankly, the people getting arrested for making all this noise have no right to complain. if you have no permit under the ZAMBIAN law to demonstrate and/or protest, by that mere fact, you stand the chance of getting arrested-full stop! It happens every where even in America where freedom of expression is taken for every thing it’s worth. So, let’s pick our battles right and do what we can to uphold the rule of the land but also show displeasure to our government the proper way. By now, am sure MMD gets the picture that the majority of the people are just plain tired of their bull crap! It’s time a for a change….2011, here we come baby.
What ever happened to freedom of speech
#23 its surprising how you talk about doing thing in the proper way when it comes to protesting, but you do not condemn anything about the suspicious acquittal of our former president. Does the law only apply to people against the injustice in the country? I do understand that there are more important issues to tackle in our country, but does that mean that whenever we have a corrupt government that throws things under the carpet then we move on? How do we fight corruption when we have the ‘i don’t care type’ mentality, pretending that things are ok when they are not? In that case lets free every Zambian who has stolen, because its easy for us to move on as a country, isn’t it? Lets not let this issue rest, because the next president will do the same thing, and expect to get away with…
No 25 is right to be shocked. No 12 Sir Alcapone , sir if we were to protest about all those things, we might as well protest against the current GRZ, because that is thier job, they should be trying to do those things listed. The Anger sweeping the nation is about setting precedent, setting examples to future thiefs. Even RB should know he will be hounded if we see he stole. As shocked says, if we keep zeeee about FJT then lets just accept corruption and start by freeing all those jailed so far. If NGOs are using the mane they get to point out injustice in Zambia, good, give them more manee. we are trying to persue this to the bitter end. all futuer plunderers just know your fate will be constant harrasment.
# 25 I am not against the protest. 1.) People are getting mad because they are some who are now being arrested. These are arrests are valid under the current ZAMBIAN law, period. 2.) Why can we not take the same stance (protest) on other (real) issues that I pointed out already for you? 3.) Ok, so FTJ was acquitted. We all know he did some “wrong” while in power but so did KK and am sure Levy too (R.I.P the real ZAMBIAN PRESIDENT). If say, ba KK is prosecuted today for all the shady deals with ZCCM for example back in the day (yes, you know the deals), and he was found not guilty, what good is protesting going to do? You and I know that, our justice system is corrupted; you may as well say it doesn’t exist. That’s our reality in Zambia today. Honking and whistling will NOT fix this.
…and maybe if these international donors put pressure on our government, we may start to see some form of accountability startting with our leaders. It’s a vicious cycle either way you look at it. GREED=CORRUPTION=INJUSTICE=?????
Number 4 and others supporting the displeasure of the acquittal through honking, Mr mulafulafu and his team, dont be misled.The majority of zambians like to follow blindly.If the zambian court has acqiutted some one and we want to respect the London court then we should do away with our courtws and ask britain to come and bring it courts here. Close the law schools here and we send all students to learn in london school because they are superior.Secondly which Church does Mulafulafu belong to? The Bible talks about 4giveness 77 times. Surely what are we gaining by pursuing one man for close to 9 years and yet he is still entitled to all the conditons due to a former president? Think people dont follow groupd blindly.