Politically motivated murders. Ritual murders. Then gassing and summary executions–we burn police posts and suspects alive. Meanwhile, the PF suspects the UPND, while UPND believes it is the PF. Come 2021, more and more blood on our streets, while politicians double their wealth!
The biblical book of Judges speaks today as it did then: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” We lack both religious and political leadership. We have self-serving politicians driven by lawless cadres. Our politics is blood-soaked; it remains a capital crime to self-identify as PF in UPND strongholds just it is to belong to UPND in PF strongholds. As for religious leaders, we see injustice as justice as long as politicians give blood-money to enhance our coffers.
Yet no sane person can celebrate the recent shameful events–they speak volumes of our moral decay. Our politicians live on human blood–power means forcing others to agree with you or face the wrath of cadres in repulsive attires. The police and courts enhance injustice–they are only answerable to the justice of the Corruptor in Chief. If you oppose them, they will kill you. If lucky, they will break your bones.
We have the Minister of religious affairs. She has never spoken against torture of suspects, which is a crime under international law. Under Rev. Sumaili’s ethical guidance, torture is a sacred police code. Whereas “innocent until proven guilty” is the frame of justice, in our Christian nation, “you are guilty until proven innocent,”–to borrow President Sata’s words on Kaunda’s arrest under Chiluba.
That police officers publicly brutalize and kill citizens is the reason for the assaults and killings of suspected gassing individuals. People see the police as corrupt and in bed with gassers and rightly so. We have no confidence in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the entire police force. Communities are thus employing citizen arrests with verdicts of summary executions; kill them before you are the next. If the police won’t act, then we will. And as Proverbs 22:8 says, “Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity!” Zambia, we are here.
The First Lady’s breakdown on the victims of gassing was called crocodile tears–I don’t think so. No mother can see the sufferings of victims of gassing, as well as the lifeless burnt bodies of suspects on our streets without shedding tears! We have lost the sacred norms of ubuntu. If burning rats or dogs alive is anathema and inhumane, how can we watch fellow human beings burn to death on our streets? O ubuntu, where art thou?
My discussion of policing with my brother and his neighbor comes to mind. He was robbed by armed robbers and they cut his hand and went away with everything. When I visited him, ZNBC aired the arrest of suspected maize thieves. They were physically tortured and forced to roll in stagnant waters on camera without clothes with guns pointed at them. I protested against such brutality, but my brother saw it as promoting “bad human rights.” When the neighbor entered, he asked her to comment on the treatment of suspects. “They are even lucky. If l caught them,” she said, “I would put burning tyres around their necks.” To my surprise, both are very committed Christians. They did not, however, see the injustice of summary executions.
But this culture did not come from nowhere–we tamed it. We saw it under the UNIP administration, then MMD cried foul. When they got power, police brutality increased. The PF promised to end it. Did they? Well the truth is, brutality has worsened. As a self-declared government in waiting, the opposition UPND has promised to end it. But telling by the violent gassing protests in its strongholds, we can only hope.
We are reaping the fruits of political brutality. Gassing knows no tribe or political party. The PF and UPND cadres are both perpetrators and victims of the same violence they tamed. But this crisis speaks to what is to come; we will turn against our neighbors and the police will be powerless unless we wake up–we are not immune to genocide–it always begin with dehumanizing the suspects. We are not far from it.
President Lungu distanced his party from gassing–no government can destroy its people to get at a political opponent. Under his watch, however, innocent people are beaten, students shot at and cadres killed, while PF criminals roam the streets with heads high. We cannot justify mob-justice, but it is a direct result of the cadre-driven policing promoted by the PF regime.
But Lungu is not alone. HH has called on his cadres to protect themselves. Today they see themselves as the police with the power to stage roadblocks and search every car to weed their communities of suspected gassers. As 2021 approaches, all it takes is calling your political opponent a gasser and the mob will its job. The time bomb of brutality is slowly exploding before our own eyes. The trending slogan of “if you kill HH you have to kill all UPND members” is pregnant with violence. No one wishes evil of another person, but the Rwanda genocide was ignited by the death of the President. What happens if Lungu dies in an accident, will PF cadres start a war against UPND or vice versa?
The ethical question is not who is behind it, but what led to this, and what can be done for people to regain their trust of the police and their leaders. We should not depend on arrested individuals to tell the whole story–after all most of the testimonies will come out of torture–that is the way it is.
We must accept that our toxic politics is behind this development and relearn the values of ubuntu. But we must also face the hard truth–we are a violent nation covered in fake Christian identity. Truth is an intrinsic and inherent good. It has power to inform and reform human values. Until we grow to see every person as a sacred image of God, and agree to disagree in love and patriotism, our future is covered in more blood! The FBI, Scotland Yard and prayers won’t stop the violence–we must choose the way of peace.
I believe in prayers but unlike Hon. Minister Rev. Sumaili, and Pastor Nevers Mumba, prayer is not the only answer. The people who are involved in these life-ending acts are Christians. Besides, pastor Mumba’s MMD is as violent as Rev. Sumaili’s government and HH’s UPND. Is it not time to have the hard national discourse on what constitutes ethical policing and human rights?
I pray we will take this Ash Wednesday and the sacred season of Lent to reflect on our role in creating this demonic environment.
“Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return!”
May God help us heal.
Rev. Kapya Kaoma
There is so much misinformation in this article.
It’s hard to believe that Never Mumba’s MMD is as violent as PF. That is below the belt Rev.
Anyway, let’s call a spade a spade. Lungu has allowed lawlessness to fester thinking that is beast would never turn a bite it’s owner. Well now PF is a victim of its own violence and is failing to contain it.
Lungu and PF have failed Zambia.
After 2021 when PF is out, sanity must return to our country. We can reunify this country and relegate tribal talk and discrimination to the dustbin.
Reverend Kaoma, u r equating two parties founded on two very different modules.
As a church, let us give guidance to politicians and speak persuasive inspiration into them.
What you spiritual importation andnu have tried to initiate mental confusion into the minds of some unthinking zambians.
We the church, let us take our position as the church.
Stop playing politics and ttrying into hide the source of this current problem
I am wishing our church good word, because politicians need us more than ever, willingly or not.
Reverend Kaoma, u r equating two parties founded on two very different modules.
As a church, let us give guidance to politicians and speak persuasive inspiration into them.
What spiritual imartation are u putting instead u have tried to initiate mental confusion into the minds of some unthinking zambians.
We the church, let us take our position as the church.
Stop playing politics and ttrying into hide the source of this current problem
I am wishing our church good word, because politicians need us more than ever, willingly or not.
Reached this point… “The police and courts enhance injustice–they are only answerable to the justice of the Corruptor in Chief…” and stopped reading. You can’t reason with a f.0.0.l who can’t respect our Courts or the Presidency. Kapya, you are a disgrace to that cloth of the church you wear. Stop hiding behind the church and declare your political ambitions, you coward.
Never speak ill of the chosen and charismatic leader, ECL. The current happenings in our beloved nation are there for a purpose. This is a litmus paper test to reveal how resolute and united we are as Zambians. A nation will never be quiet completely like water in a well. We had the likes of Adamson Mushala during the UNIP era, the Maironi brothers in the recent past who had terrorized Central Province for a number of years and now the Gassers in the present era. Very soon, even the gassing affair shall be a thing of the past.
It all started with Seer 1 and now we have reached this stage where for the first time in the history of this country, we are experiencing what we have never experienced before. To rewind in the past a bit, Seer 1 was recently heard lamenting that he used to go to parliament in the night to perform rituals. That is a national property and no single person or a grouping of witches ever has any right to perform rituals at that property. So may dirty and demonic things have taken place in the last 3-5 years. PF please rid yourselves of witches before they finish us. Parliament is not a PF building and performing rituals there is not right.
This reverend is very brave , calling a spade a spade ,things have gotten worse under lungu, PF cader killers remain untouchable,
In the history of Zambia, never would anyone imagine Zambians getting burned alive by fellow Zambians,
Only under lungu
we salute you reverend .
The sad thing about the PF regime through Edgar is that all they have accomplished in office is talking about HH. Their agenda is always about HH, little is being done to quell the ailing economy. If PF confidently and cleanly won the 2016 elections they would have not been minding Much about the opposition and concentrated on working. However there is something in that election a truth that they know that has unsettled the PF hence this brutal tactics they use to hinder opposition because PF is acting like a scared govt. We know bullies target people who they know are smarter and better than them so that they can feel to be control over that person and clearly this is what PF is like to the opposition.
Ask Findlay Kaise and kampyomgo about why the commandos were guarding 3/4x 40 ft containers at Bali dis property .
Zambians should know wat the PF and Findlay were doing with the contents and distribution on uniforms .
The only sensible Statement I’ve read thus far on these terrible incidents was by Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba, and that was on the Zambian Observer site, why it wasnt posted on Lsk Times I don’t know.
Analysis of these incidents takes an intelligent, unsuperstitious mind, only then can you make a fair comment on this.
As I’ve mentioned several times what is the greater threat, is it alleged gassing or actual killing of innocent suspects? Has there even been one confirmed death due to gassing? It is painful to see the levels of ignorance where people keep on adding to the mass hysteria by mentioning alledged gassing incidents rather than the actual attacks on innocent people. For us to put an end to this madness let’s deal with the greater evil first which are the attacks on…
Ctn… For us to put an end to this madness let’s deal with the greater evil first which are the attacks on innocent people, after we have controlled that situation then please you can then talk about unconfirmed (by any lab) gassing incidents. Please don’t add to the hysteria.
Good point they were kept at Findlay’s farm being guarded by commandos reporting to a man with no credentials no security clearance yet moves around with his best friend like a toy dog with a leashe . Findlay knows the truth with his counter parts ..
TAKE HEART!
There is no season that lasts forever so are the problems we are facing today
Whatever season we are facing we’ll always give away to another. Therefore no matter how cold winter is, summer is coming. There is no problem we can talk about today that will last forever. Even the bible says;to every season there is a time frame.
Take heart, God cannot allow anything to happen to us which we have no ability to handle.
Therefore as the President and his cabinet and several other several stakeholders work to resolve our challenges it is important for citizens to realise that until we cooperate and work together we can’t overcome our problems.
We all have a role to play. The President has a role Cabinet Ministers Churches, Civil societies and the general citizenery…
Pass.
Next item please!
Iwe leta remote uleke tuchiteko fimbi. Mwati nyaya amalyashi yaba nkusa.
The church is eroded because all you people preach is about money. Your money messages make people do useless things to get it because you preach one part which is telling people to get money on the other hand you don’t tell them how to make that money and not knowing how has misled people to do unquestionable things. The church has surprisingly been quiet on pertinent issues affecting the nation because they have been busy misrepresenting God through prosperity messages and gaining from that on the pretext that God was blessing them. God has been watching and we reaping exactly what we sow. Leaders are selfish all busy pushing selfish agendas that they don’t mind getting at any cost. What will make Zambia great is unity, love, hardwork and tolerance.
Too much speculation in the article, only leaving readers bewildered. Before you write about such sensitive issues, make sure you have the facts. If not, then don’t write anything at all ba Rev. People are frustrated enough that such terrrible things are happening in Zambia, they don’t need more analyses or lectures on how things may get even worse. If you find someone hurt in a road accident, you don’t start lecturing them about safe driving – you administer First Aid. That’s what the country desperately needs right now!
I think it all started with the snake-eating issue, then we had Seer 1.
CRAP!!!!!
Emanuel Mwamba a thick gluey politician he’s the rain maker always a suspect like a camellion Always changes his colors put him with any animal and he will turn.
Don’t trust this chap one bit . Findlay Xavier Chungu and the cronies all involved in gassing strategy.Xzman has it right .
Substandard editorial. Real journalists like Maduma are able to rescue the situation
Thank you.Pf keep k11ling us and we will v0te for you still
Kapya have ever heard President Lungu CRYING for HH ..?
Kapya have you heard President Lungu CRYING for HH..?
Security SOS.
Can the security wings please stop the public from making comments on the ongoing investigations please starting with the PF media team to politicians as they have continued alarming the nation.
It’s a crime to make commentaries on live investigations. I don’t understand why the police have not arrested GBM, Lusambo and the PF media person for what is termed in legal circles as “Perverting the cause of justice”.
Please let security wings do their work without loose mouths like that of GBM and others.
The moron feared to say clearly that it is PF doing these things