Munir didn’t say that people of Bweengwa are dull – Police Officer
A Police Officer says it is demeaning to refer to someone as blockhead but Lumezi member of parliament Munir Zulu did not mention that the people of Bweengwa are dull in an interview he gave to the media.
He said the witnesses who reported the matter to the police expressed displeasure with the utterances by the law maker that the people of Lumezi were more quick-witted than those from Bweengwa.
In this matter Zulu is charged with expressing hatred, ridicule or contempt for people because of race or color.
Detective inspector Brian Chipango told magistrate Amy Masoja that on March 30, 2024, he was assigned to investigate Zulu’s case for the subject offense.
He said he checked for his interview with the journalists on various media platforms among them the PF page.
Brian Chipango detective inspector said on March 30, 2023, he was allocated a case to handle which was bearing the subject offense of expressing or showing hatred, ridicule, contempt for persons because of race or color.
“I perused through the docket I noted that there was a complaint against honorable Munir Zulu who was captured on camera whilst giving interviews to journalists. The video was circulated on social media platforms notable among the PF.
“When I watched the video I heard honorable Munir Zulu saying; “ It’s been an interesting fight, it has moved from being an ACC issue to a police matter I won’t say much for now, we have been released on police bond. I want to tell you something am a villager from Lumezi but villagers from Lumezi are more intelligent than villagers from Bweengwa, thank you”
“Upon finishing I pressed for a preservation order through the Facebook law enforcement portal. I wrote to digital forensic laboratory at force headquarters to request them to extract the video from the Facebook page using the legal cyber tools.”
He said he interviewed five witnesses among them Prince Bill Kapinga who said they were not pleased with Zulu’s utterances.
“I went to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to acquaint myself with the support the accused received in his constituency, the votes he gathered. I interviewed Bob Musenga He told the accused gathered 12, 929 votes,” Chipango said.
He told the Court that during warn and caution, Zulu gave him a savorless explanation to which he made up his mind to arrest him and charge him with the said offense.
During Cross examination by Mcqueen Zaza the witness said It wasn’t part of his duty to establish the number of tribes in Bweengwa.
Asked about the race of the people living in Bweengwa, the witness said they are negroid.
Asked if there is a tribe called Bweengwa, Chipango denied.
He said less intelligent and less dull are not the same
Asked if he established the numbers of people who live in Bweengwa and whether he interviewed them regarding the remarks the witness said he did not interview anyone or establish the number of people.
“I didn’t investigate how many people live in Bweengwa it would have required many resources it would have been more like doing census. It was not necessary for me to get the number at Central Satistical Office (CSO),”he said.
Chipango said it is demeaning to tell someone that they l are dull.
Asked if Zulu said he hates the people of Bweengwa, the witness denied.
“The ingredients of the offense is the place of origin. He (Zulu) referred to the people of Bweengwa as dull but not in the video, the second element is the place of origin he compared the people of Lumezi to the people of Bweengwa,”Chipango said.
“The place of origin and nationality are different.
My nationality is Zambian and the people of Bweengwa are Zambian.”
When cross examined by Nkhula Botha Chipango said the charge sheet does not have the word dull.
Asked if he interview experts of English, the witness denied.
Magistrate Masoja adjourned the case to August 20 for mention and fixing of a date for ruling after the State indicated that it had closed its case.
By Mwaka Ndawa
Kalemba July 24, 2024.