TONSE ALLIANCE STATEMENT ON POLICE BRUTALITY AT KIKONGE GOLD MINE IN MUFUMBWE DISTRICT OF NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCE OF ZAMBIA
Liberty House, 7th July 2025
1. The TONSE ALLIANCE is very saddened by the unnecessary loss of lives due to Police brutality at Kikonge Gold Mine in Mufumbwe District. From our standpoint, it does not matter whether the total number of those killed is 3, as alleged by Government media, or 18 as alleged by some private media. Even a single life lost due to Police brutality is one too many.
2. As TONSE ALLIANCE, we wonder why Government did not simply issue eviction notices to the miners, for them to vacate the premises within a specified period of time, instead of sending Police to ambush them, bringing about unnecessary bloodshed and loss of lives. If the UPND Government respected human lives, then the use of force should have been the last resort and not the first option.
3. As TONSE ALLIANCE, we further wonder why the UPND Government has been unwilling to issue artisanal mining licenses to these youths so as to allow them to regularize their mining activities, instead of gleefully referring to them as illegal miners? It is evident that these youths are Zambian citizens who are not lazy, but are able and willing to work hard by engaging in mining activities. So why can’t the Government empower these youths by issuing them with artisanal mining licenses so that they can undertake their activities within the confines of the law?
4. It is evident that our youths, both those who went to school and those who did not, are battling with high levels of unemployment. There are no jobs on the market. This has forced many youths to engage in criminal activities. However, instead of engaging in criminal activities and robbing innocent citizens, the youths who went to Mufumbwe decided to work hard for themselves by engaging in small scale mining. By all means, this was a noble undertaking. However, instead of their Government empowering them with artisanal mining licenses and training, their Government instead sent armed police officers to shoot them dead. The question is why?
5. As TONSE ALLIANCE, we wish to advise the UPND Government to learn from their counterparts in Zimbabwe with regard to the handling of artisanal mining. In Zimbabwe, individual artisanal miners are empowered with licenses and safety training, which has turned them into the biggest contributors to the local diamond mining industry. To the contrary, in Zambia, the Department of Mines has a long list of outstanding applications for artisanal mining licenses, and yet our people are harassed and even killed by the police for engaging in artisanal mining without licenses.
6. As TONSE ALLIANCE, we wish to advise President Hakainde Hichilema and his Government to change their attitude towards artisanal miners. Instead of criminalizing them and sending Police to brutalize them and shoot them dead, the Government should instead empower these youths by issuing them with artisanal mining licenses, so that they can operate within the law. Once these youths have been licensed, they should then be subjected to safety training so that we can avoid the many small scale mining accidents that have been rampant of late. No president can build a nation by deploying force where wisdom is required.
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Issued by:
Sean E. Tembo (SET)
PeP President & TONSE ALLIANCE Spokesperson
Lusaka, Zambia.
It’s crucial to recognize the immense pressure on law enforcement when managing such a vast and potentially volatile crowd. Balancing the need for public safety with respect for civil liberties is no easy task, especially when the threat of violence looms. The lessons from regions plagued by unrest remind us how quickly order can unravel if not handled with vigilance and care.
In moments like these, the government’s options are limited yet significant. Communication and de-escalation strategies become paramount—using dialogue to defuse tensions before they escalate. At the same time, authorities must maintain a visible presence to deter violence, always striving to act proportionally and within the rule of law.
Ultimately, the priority should be to protect both the public and the officers on duty, ensuring that any response is measured and justified. Building trust through transparency and accountability can help prevent such situations from spiraling into chaos, safeguarding the nation from the kind of instability witnessed elsewhere.
Tonse, you are not different from us, all of Zambians including our government are saddened by the Kikonge deaths. Yesterday,the President sent the message of condolences to the bereaved families.
So if they attack security officers who went to advise them to vacate should those security officers just fold their hands to be beaten and killed or they need to defend themselves.
Useless article. The security wings are armed for a reason. Criminals and unruly people bent on causing havoc are sorted out by violence even if it means using guns. People should be law abiding.