Retired veteran politician Vernon Mwaanga says opposition leaders that form part of the Grand Coalition are right to resolve not to attend the April 30th constitution Indaba that is being organized by the Southern African Center for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD).

On Friday last week 16 opposition political party leaders that include among other presidents, that of the MMD, UPND, ADD, NAREP and the ABZ announced at a media briefing that they will not attend Wednesday’s Constitution Indaba as they prefer meeting President Michael Sata himself as opposed to having a question and answer Indaba which SACCORD has proposed.

And Mr. Mwaanga has told Qfm news in an interview that although SACCORD has made a good attempt the opposition political party leaders have also made it clear that what they want is to have a meaningful dialogue on among other issues, the Constitution as well as the issue of the Public Order Act.

Mr. Mwaanga says this is the exact kind of dialogue that the country is supposed to be promoting especially that Zambia has been encouraging dialogue among political stakeholders in other countries.

He says doing the opposite will make a no sense of the efforts that the country has been making abroad if does not practice what it preaches to other countries.

And Mr. Mwaanga says he hopes that government will this time grant an audience to the opposition request of meeting with the Head of State as the strategy of denying the opposition to engage in such dialogue as had been practiced in the past is a matter of extreme regret.

He says in a democracy dialogue among political stakeholders is always essential as it is a means of addressing disagreements that of national concern that arise in the country.

A Deputy Head teacher in Kitwe has been brutally murdered and her husband seriously wounded by two of their biological children in a bizarre incident.

The brutal murder is believed to have been sparked by the children’s desire to grab their parent’s wealth.
In what seemed to be a calculated execution, the two assailants fiercely descended on their parents with knives and iron bars, killing the mother instantly.

The father managed to flee after being stabbed in the neck with a knife. Police identified the mother as Ethel Gondwe, a deputy head teacher at Ishuko Primary School in Chimwemwe Township.

Her, husband, Emmanuel Katongo, also a teacher at Mopani Copper Mines’ Nkana Trust School was rushed to Wusakile Mine Hospital where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.Police spokesperson Charity Chanda and family members confirmed the incident, which happened in the early hours of Saturday in Mukuba-Natwange at house number MN 33.
Upon killing their mother, the assailants bundled the body in a car and drove to Chichele forest on the Kitwe-Ndola dual carriageway where they dumped it.

Ms Chanda said the two sons, Emmanuel Katongo Junior, 21, and his 18-year-old brother had since been apprehended and detained in connection with the killing of Ms Gondwe and also the unlawful wounding of Mr Katongo.
“I confirm that we have apprehended two boys who are currently in custody in connection with the death of the mother and unlawful wounding of their father,” Ms Chanda said.

When queried, the two said they dumped the body of their mother in the Chichele plantation on the Kitwe-Ndola dual carriageway.The body had since been retrieved from the plantation.

Phillip Tembo, uncle of the wounded man said in an interview that the two sons during interrogation by police yesterday confessed that they had planned to murder both of their parents so that they could have access to the benefits.
“It seems the mother had told the younger boy that she was about to retire and he in turn told his elder brother about that and it is from that they embarked on a mission to murder their parents,” he said.
A Times of Zambia reporter visited the residence and found blood stains in the living room up to the corridor and extending to the car park.
Two blood-stained knives were also found in the yard.
Police sources said on the material day, the two brothers upon returning from a drinking spree quarreled with their parents over the two vehicles they owned.
They said emanating from that, the sons picked up knives and stabbed their father in the neck.
They later picked an iron bar and followed their mother in the kitchen where they hit her on the head and she died.
“The father in the living room managed to get up and that is how he fled but meanwhile, the two sons went ahead and bundled the body of their mother in a vehicle and managed to drive away,” the sources said.
They said it was while they were returning that the two were intercepted at a police check-point near a Farm House on the Kitwe-Ndola dual carriageway by an officer who saw blood stains in the vehicle.
Meanwhile Silvia Mweetwa reports that a 45-year-old Kapiri-Mposhi man was in the early morning of Saturday beaten to death after he was allegedly found in bed with a married woman.
Central Province deputy Commissioner of police, Edwin Bwanga said the deceased, Misheck Mwansa was found in the act by the woman’s husband.
Mr Bwanga said the incident happened around 06:00 hours at Juda village in Chief Chipepo’s area and that a stick was reportedly used in the beating.
He said police had since picked up the woman’s husband identified as Rabison Sakala aged 34 to assist with investigations.
[Times of Zambia]

VETERAN politician Vernon Mwaanga has called on Zambians to build on the good track record first republican president Kenneth Kaunda has established for the nation by continuing to promote and nurture the existing peace and unity.

And Mr Mwaanga said there was need to seriously dialogue over the controversial Barotseland Agreement in order to bring the matter to a conclusive end once and for all.

Mr Mwaanga said Dr Kaunda established a good track record for the country in terms of nation unity based on his ‘One Zambia, One Nation’ philosophy’.

He said Dr Kaunda throughout his reign never lost sight of the balance in appointment for leadership position whether it in Cabinet or parastatal companies.

“Dr Kaunda insisted on adopting a non-racialism because he wanted to build a non-racial society based on One Zambia, One Nation concept hence the motto on our national emblem,” he said.

Mr Mwaanga said this on Friday night in Kitwe when he featured as guest speaker on the ‘KK at 90 Seminar on peace building’ held Hotel Edinburgh.

The seminar held under the theme ‘Unity in Diversity’ was organized by the Copperbelt University (CBU) in conjunction with the Kitwe district administration.

Mr Mwaanga described Dr Kaunda as a true icon of peace and unity not only in the country but the world over as evidenced by his all time message of ‘love thy neighbour as you love yourself’.

He said Dr Kaunda was deeply concerned about issues of peace and conflicts taking place in the world and spent a great deal of his time attending to these issues.

And Mr Mwaanga said there was need to engage in dialogue over the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 so that the various groups could raise their concerns on the matter.

He said this was because not all interest groups in Western province were for secession of the region.

“It is not too late to engage in dialogue because if left unresolved, the issue will continue to resurface time and again,” he said.

OASIS Forum Convener Beatrice Grillo says the move to sensitize Zambians on the importance of enactment of the new constitution was not aimed at inciting the public to rise against the government but merely to ask them to demand for was promised by the government.

Mrs Grillo who is also Non-Government Organization Coordinating Committee (NGOCC) board chairperson said that the forum means well and maintained that there would take the message to every corner of the country to provide them with information over the stalled constitution.

Speaking in Kabwe over the weekend during an outreach meeting held at Presbytery church with theme” The constitution and you, time to connect”, Ms Grillo said the forum has taken it upon themselves to sensitize the public on their mandate to demand for a constitution that would stand a text of time.

“We aware that some people think that we want to incite the public to rise against our government which is not true because all we are doing is to remind them to demand what was promised to them, “she said.

She further said the government would be doing the Zambians a disservice and injustice if it decides to throw away the draft constitution which was done at a great expense and appealed to government to listen to concerns of Zambians.

She said the adoption of the constitution should be done through a national referendum and that the question of cost should not arise adding that government should allow the will of the people to prevail.

She accused that government of having lied to the Zambians people during its campaign promise when it promised a good constitution and challenged them to state clearly what had gone wrong the draft.

And earlier Critas Zambia member Maximillian Ngwira warned that people playing and refusing to listen to the church were playing with fire and that the people of Kabwe like other Zambians in the country were interested in seeing to it that process of enactment of a constitution is completed and given to the people.

He said it was wrong for government to attempt to deny Zambians a constitution considering the deliberations which was held in nearly all corners of the country and involved traditional leaders, youths, the church and other stakeholders and wondered how such magnitude of people can make a mistake over a draft.

And those who attended the meeting asked Zambians to take the discussions in home, schools, universities and any other gathering because failure to enact the constitution would not only after an individual but all.

A TWENTY three year-old woman of Livingstone in Southern Province has allegedly committed suicide by throwing herself into the mighty Victoria Falls.

Carol Kanyembo of 172 Dambwa North Extension allegedly committed suicide on Friday evening on grounds that she was a disappointment to her parents over her school progresses.

A few days before Ms Kanyembo took her life, she sent text messages to her close friends which read that she would “Take my life” on grounds that she was a disappointment to her parents.

Southern Province deputy police chief Milner Muyambango, who confirmed the incidence in an interview yesterday, said the deceased was last seen at Victoria Falls premises on Friday around 18:00 hours.

“She was last seen on April 25, this year, at the Victoria Falls at around 18:00hours and it is believed that she threw herself into the Victoria Falls,” Mr Muyambango said.

He said the suicide suspicion arose from the fact that she earlier wrote some short message services (SMS) to her friends indicating that she would take her life because she felt being a disappointment to the efforts by her parents who tried their best to ensure she progresses in school.

Mr Muyambango said the deceased’s parents were believed to have been paying for their daughter’s school tuition fees at a tertiary institution in Botswana but she dropped out.

He said that Ms Kanyembo was also sent to another learning institution in the neighbouring Namibia where was reported to have dropped out again.

“According to her friends, this situation mentally tortured her and she could have decided to take her own life,” Mr Muyambango said.

He said police in Livingstone were making efforts to search for the body of the girl.
Mr Muyambango, however, appealed to members of the public to alert police on possible whereabouts of the deceased.