LUNTE Member of Parliament Hon. Mutotwe L. Kafwaya writes:::
KILLING YOUTHS IN MUFUMBWE IS HORRIBLE.
It is deeply disturbing and saddening that our Republican President remains silent following that tragic loss of lives in North-Western Province. This is not an isolated incident this is about multiple lives lost at the hands of those who should be protecting them.
Mr. Hakainde Hichilema must take full responsibility for the tragic deaths of the young people in Mufumbwe. I say this with conviction because when Vespers and Nsama were tragically killed by the Police, Mr. Hichilema then in opposition stood on top of the mountain and blamed his predecessor for their deaths and this became a campaign message and he decried police brutality but today he is now presiding over a government whose police can open fire on innocent citizens.
In fact, while recently addressing supporters on the Copperbelt, Mr. Hichilema went as far as claiming that his predecessor “could not come back to start killing people like Lawrence Banda, Vespers, and others.” By his own reasoning, the State must be held accountable for every Zambian life lost under its watch.
Mr President, these were not illegal miners. These were young people struggling to make a living in an economy that you have made unbearable, an economy that has made survival itself a daily battle for many Zambians.
And yes let us be clear what we have witnessed in Mufumbwe is the cold, and an intentional use of live ammunition on unarmed youths who were simply seeking a livelihood in a country with abundant resources and recording over K50 billion in illicit financial flows yet corruption infested, where job and business opportunities are hard to come by for the ordinary citizens.
What is even more disturbing is that Mr. Hichilema has remained mute in the face of this injustice inflicted on the innocent citizens of North-Western. His office has had time to issue statements on political appointments and the deferment of Bill 7 yet has found no time, no voice, no urgency to speak on the spilling of innocent blood in Mufumbwe.
These young lives mattered. Their families matter. Zambia is not a dictatorship where life is cheap and accountability is optional.
Let Mr Hichilema take full responsibility and clearly state the measures his government is putting in place to forestall such killings in the future.
Zambia belongs to all of us.
Restoring EVERTHING PATRIOTIC
MK06.07.2025