By Chambwa Moonga
THREE Lusaka-based journalists were last evening interrogated by police officers after covering non-governmental organisations which addressed issues surrounding the Hatembo family and the abduction, by gunmen, of a UPND member Tom Silwiindi in Choma.
The gunmen cruelly ‘arrested’ Silwiindi on Saturday at his home.
A police source tipped The Mast this afternoon that the journalists – Andrew Mwansa (Muvi TV), Coswell Hantuba (Hot FM) and Amos Lungu (CAMNET TV), together with their driver, were intercepted in Mazabuka town by plain-clothed police officers and were interrogated for over two hours.
According to the source’s narration, the uncompromising officers were led by a commissioner (name withheld) from Lusaka.
The journalists had their gadgets confiscated as police officers took statements regarding the media briefing held in Choma, under the auspices of Zitukule Consortium.
“Yes guys, can we please have your identification cards. We want to prove that you are truly Zambians,” an officer was heard telling the journalists.
“We have been having situations where foreigners claim to be Zambians when in fact not.”
The police officers later led the journalists to a nearby tent where they were interviewed.
“Kindly sit here. Feel free; we just want to have a chat with you. Kindly cooperate. All we need is information from you,” they said.
“Where do you work from? And when did you go to Choma? Who invited you there? Are there no media houses in Choma who could have covered that event?”
After questioning the journalist for over 30 minutes, the team leader at this point asked the other officers to record statements from the trio.
“Kindly tell us all you know about your trip. Who organised the trip? Where were you picked from? Who picked you up? How many people did you find in the car when being picked up?”
At this point, the officers were told that the media briefing was organised by Zitukule Consortium executive director Nicholas Phiri.
The questions from the officers continued.
“Where is Nicholas? What part of Choma is he? they asked.
After a lengthy interrogation, the team leader then elaborated that they were police officers from police force headquarters in Lusaka.
“We are police from police force headquarters. We are here because someone tipped us that you were in Choma to cover the Hatembos. The area of interest to us is that this name has been in the media for a over a month now and we are interested to get to the root of what is happening,” he explained.
“So, thank you very much for your cooperation. Don’t be scared; we are not here to harm you. In due course, we are going to call you, if need be.”
The three journalists and the driver were then allowed to leave Mazabuka around midnight, over two hours of a delay.