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| Soldiers on patrol in Kanyama- Picture by Tenson Mkhala |
By Paul Shalala
Zambian President Edgar Lungu has
apologised to foreign nationals who have been displaced by recent riots where
foreign owned shops were looted in the southern African nation’s capital
Lusaka.
Speaking when he addressed over 400 Burundian, Rwandese and Congolese nationals who have sought shelter at a
Catholic Church hall in Lusaka, President Lungu said he would work with the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure that they
return to their houses.
"I take
full responsibility on behalf of the Zambian people. I also assure you of full
protection and security of you and your property. The senseless violence in
some parts of Lusaka are, in our view, acts of criminality rather xenophobic.
We will work with the United Nations, the Church and our communities to resolve
the matter,” said President Lungu.
Zambians have been trooping to the Catholic
Church with donations of food and clothing to help the refugees whose number
keeps swelling by the hour.
In the past three days, unruly residents of
about seven townships in Lusaka attacked and looted goods from shops owned by
foreigners mainly Burundians, Rwandese and Congolese.
The riots were fuelled by rumours that foreign
businessmen were behind the suspected ritual murders, a claim the Zambian
authorities have vehemently denied.
Initially, the riots started in northern
township of Zingalume last week where six people had been killed and body parts
removed in suspected ritual murders.
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| President Lungu greets refugees- Picture by Eddie Mwanaleza |
As mutilated bodies were being discovered
in the same area over the past four weeks, residents descended on nearby Police
stations where they vented their anger and destroyed property.
From Zingalume, the riots spread to George,
Lilanda, Garden, Chawama, Ibex Hill, Kanyama and Mtendere townships which are
mostly slums.
The Zambia Police Service deployed about
2,000 officers across the city but failed to pacify the situation.
During a tour of some affected townships on
Tuesday, Zambia’s Home Affairs Minister Davies Mwila disclosed that two
Zambians were burnt to death during the riots and over 200 others were arrested
for riotous behaviour.
Mr Mwila also disclosed that eleven people
had been arrested on suspicion of being behind the suspected ritual murders.
He said among the eleven where two
foreigners whose identities and countries of origin he would not disclose.
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| Soldiers securing Kanyama township |
“We arrested some suspects with some
suspicious items which we want to subject to laboratory tests. We hope the
tests will confirm whether those items are human parts or not,” said Rae
Hamoonga, Zambia Police Service Deputy Spokesperson.
As the situation was getting out of hand on
Wednesday, President Lungu deployed the much feared Zambia Army in the
townships where anarchy had characterised the past three days.
“I Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the
Republic of Zambia and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, has issued a
Special Operational Order to the security services to restore law and order in
some parts of Lusaka. The order is specifically designed to stop the recent
spate of ritual murders and the resultant rioting in some townships where
irresponsible people spread inflammatory rumours against certain nationalities.
The operational order will be reviewed tomorrow,” read a statement from State
House.
Within hours of the Zambia Army being
deployed, peace was restored to the capital city and some foreign shops were
re-opened on Thursday.
Soldiers on foot patrols and in pick-up
trucks have continued patrolling the city.
The Zambia Army is rarely deployed in
residential areas and its presence brings fear to most Zambians who tolerate
Police officers and usually pelt them with stones during riots.
In Lilanda township, a group of soldiers in
a pick-up truck where mobbed by slogan chanting residents while singing songs
in praise of the army: ‘ama soldier besu……. Ama soldier besu’ (our soldiers…..
our soldiers).
This was in contrast with events of the
last three days when residents fought running battles with Police officers who
were responding with teargas.
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| Some of the foreigners being housed by the Catholic Church |
Burundians, Rwandese and Congolese refugees
came to Zambia in the 1990s and thousands of them live in residential areas
around Lusaka.
Most of them own retail shops and have integrated
into Zambian society despite not taking up Zambian citizenship.
Despite the Rwandese being given an
opportunity by the Zambian government to get citizenship, they have refused to
get the Rwandese passport from their local embassy as a first step before
getting Zambian citizenship, a process which is being spearheaded by the UNHCR.
Some Rwandese national have even adopted
local Zambian names and they speak fluent Bemba and Nyanja, two of the most
widely spoken languages in Lusaka.
In townships like Chawama, Burundians and Rwandese own more shops than Zambians.
Their business prowess has over the past decade become the backbone of the local economies in the slums of Lusaka.
It is this success in their retail business which has made these hardworking refugees to become enemies of some disgruntled elements in these areas, leading to false rumours of the foreigners being involved in the sale of human body parts.
