GUEST ARTICLE: Zambia Police Service are no match for JJ
If the victorious history that fugitive Petauke Central member of parliament Emmanuel JJ Banda has against the Zambia Police is anything to go by, forget the men and women from Lilayi scoring any meaningful goals against him.
Borrowing a term from football vocabulary, JJ has a superior head-to-head record against the Zambia Police.
The former Petauke PF youth chairman has consistently outsmarted the Zambia Police Service, leaving them scrambling to keep up.
With a history of daring escapades, JJ has proven himself to be a formidable opponent, always staying one step ahead of the law.
In July of 2020, JJ orchestrated a brazen attack on Lusaka Central Police Station, leaving a trail of battered officers in his wake.
Escorted by his PF henchmen, JJ stormed into the Lusaka Central Police Station, slamming doors shut behind him and with a fierce determination, they rounded up every officer on duty, from the commissioner to the lowest-ranking personnel.
Then, in a stunning display of brute force, JJ’s men unleashed a merciless beating on the officers, beating the living daylight out of their Lilayi-trained bodies.
No one was spared – members of the feared C5 squad, anti-robbery unit, and even the Victim Support Unit all felt JJ’s wrath that day.
After exhausting his energy, JJ and company casually strolled out of the police station, having helped themselves to the officers’ phones, money, and other valuables.
Following the incident, JJ vanished into thin air, leaving behind a trail of battered and humiliated officers.
After composing themselves, police announced that they had launched a manhunt for JJ, vowing to charge him with aggravated robbery.
However, their efforts were in vain – JJ remained at large until he chose to surrender on August 19.
Surprisingly, JJ walked into the police station and was released a mere 20 minutes later by the same officers he had brutally beaten, some of whom still bore the physical scars of the encounter, including missing teeth – apparently on police bond.
The aftermath saw JJ facing a court of law, where he received a surprisingly lenient fine of K150 for the incident.
Four months prior to this incident, February 2020 to be specific, JJ had led a group of Lusaka Intertcity-based PF thugs in a violent disruption of a live broadcast of Bill 10 Constitutional Amendment debate at the Intercontinental Hotel, sending attendees fleeing in terror.
Yet, despite the overwhelming police presence, no officer could master the courage to arrest JJ or any of his criminal comrades.
And recently, JJ’s alleged abduction left the police baffled, only for him to reappear mysteriously.
Despite being in their custody for several weeks, the Zambia Police Service don’t seem to have gotten anything meaningful from him regarding the details of the abduction.
If they have, the Police have not communicated to the public.
Instead, the authorities have chosen to charge JJ with aggravated robbery for an eight-year-old incident which would ensure that he remains behind bars without bail.
But true to his form, JJ outsmarted his captors once again, escaping from Chipata General Hospital last Sunday despite being under guard by two armed police officers and three Zambia Correctional Service personnel.
Almost a week has passed since his daring escape, and JJ remains at large and now the Zambia Police Service are offering a K2 million reward for information leading to his capture and successful prosecution.
The Zambia Police Service should just give JJ his medal, they can’t keep up with him.
Kalemba August 10, 2024
The police should be left alone to treat JJ not be threatened by the opposition.JJ has become a glorified criminal by the opposition JJ will be arrested soon .
Glorifying criminals like JJ what kind of reporting is that. Criminals belong to jails It’s un Zambian to do that and very evil.
On the contrary JJ knows that the current regime and its ZP Service will not tolerate his nonsense. Hence his decision to bolt. The writer conveniently forgets that thuggery was the order of the day during PF rule. The hands of the police were tied because thuggery was tolerated and supported by the highest office in the land. Remember how officers such as Bonny Kapeso and Shapa Wakuñuma were hounded out of the police service for standing their ground against PF thuggery. Given a level playing field there is no way JJ and all his PF thugs can humiliate the police in the manner he did during PF rule. They would be pounded to pulp before leaving the police station. It is not wise to praise fools.