Livingstone Mayor’s Reckless Act Triggers Stampede: 9-Month-Old Child Dies in K10 Chaos
By Thandiwe Ketis Ngoma
It is heartbreaking beyond words and infuriating beyond measure to witness the loss of a 9-month-old child, trampled to death in a senseless stampede at a UPND youth rally at Maramba Stadium in Livingstone. Chaos erupted when the Livingstone Mayor, in a display of reckless arrogance, threw K10 notes into a desperate, starving crowd, triggering panic, a stampede, and, tragically, death.
A life full of promise was stolen in seconds, not by accident, but by the selfishness and thoughtlessness of leadership.
This horrific incident serves as a brutal, bloodstained reminder of the crushing poverty that millions of Zambians endure every single day. The fact that a few K10 notes — barely enough to buy a loaf of bread — could ignite such deadly desperation should shatter the conscience of this nation. Poverty in Zambia is no longer hidden behind closed doors. It is screaming from our streets, bursting from our markets, and now, tragically, it is claiming the lives of our most innocent — in full view of the world.
Yet, those entrusted with leadership choose not to confront this suffering. Instead, they exploit it. They do not fight poverty; they parade it. They do not lift up the poor; they gamble with their lives for cheap, hollow political points.
This was not an accident. It was a predictable and preventable disaster, a direct result of a leadership culture that has grown callous, arrogant, and dangerously disconnected from the people it was elected to serve.
As we mourn this unspeakable loss, we must demand answers.
Why did the mayor, an elected official charged with protecting the people, deliberately unleash desperation among the most vulnerable? Was this generosity? Or was it a shameless, staged publicity stunt to harvest applause from the misery of the poor?
When you know that your people are battling daily for mere survival, when you see the hollow cheeks, the worn-out bodies, and the anguish in the eyes of mothers and fathers, how can you knowingly act with such reckless cruelty?
This was not charity. It was humiliation. It was stripping people of their dignity, treating them like animals scrabbling for scraps. It was turning their hunger into a spectacle for political theatre.
And a 9-month-old child paid the ultimate price.
The mayor must take full and unequivocal responsibility. This was not an unfortunate incident. It was an indictment of a political system that uses poor people as pawns, that values photo opportunities over human life, and that weaponizes hunger for applause.
True leadership demands foresight. It demands wisdom. It demands compassion and a fierce respect for the sanctity of human life. None of those qualities were demonstrated at Maramba Stadium.
Had the so-called assistance been distributed with dignity, planning, and humanity, this child would still be alive today.
When political arrogance collides with public desperation, and poverty is used as a prop for campaigns, death becomes inevitable.
Today, a family sits shattered by grief. A community is gripped by sorrow and rage. And a nation must confront a terrible question: How far have we fallen, that the poor must die simply to be noticed?
This tragedy is not an isolated mistake. It is a symptom of a deeper and deadlier disease within our leadership. We are becoming a country where the suffering of the poor is not solved, but staged. Where hunger is not healed, but broadcast for claps and cameras.
We must not allow this to be buried under empty apologies and hollow sympathy. We must demand real, tangible accountability. We must demand leaders who value lives, not headlines. We must reject the politics of poverty that tramples on the dignity and lives of our people.
Because make no mistake: A child has died, not by random chance, but because desperation was used as a spectacle and leadership failed at its most basic duty — to protect life.
May this precious, innocent life not be lost in vain. May it ignite outrage strong enough to tear down this broken system. May it awaken every Zambian to stand for something better — to demand leadership rooted in compassion, dignity, and respect for every life.
Leadership without compassion is not leadership at all. It is a danger to every citizen.
Enough is enough.
The time for change is not tomorrow. It is now. It is today. It must begin with justice for that 9-month-old child and for every Zambian crushed under the weight of poverty and failed leadership.
The first time I read this story, I dismissed it as mere propaganda. If there is some truth to this story, it is a very sad turn of events indeed. Where did this immature mayor get the money to start literally throwing at people? Money honestly acquired cannot be foolishly thrown away like that.
I thought this kind of behaviour was associated with PF thugs. Clearly, some in UPND were envying the thuggish behaviour of their PF counterparts and by extension, the corruption of the PF.
This is no way to treat humanbeings. If the mayor has a lot of excess cash, let her donate to the needy while maintaining their dignity.
This will be a good test case to see if the laws are applied fairly to ruling party members.
Can you imagine what would have happened if this act had been committed by an opposition member?
Reject tribalism, corruption and oppression.
God bless Why Me and Captain Ibrahim Traore.
Vote for change in 2026.
Ba Indigo, what law has she broken?
@JMC ask yourself, how come only ba chulas know about this especially that first they said a 10 month old child now it a 9month old?? Noya how???