By CHILA NAMAIKO and SYLVIA MWEETWA –
POLICE in North-Western Province have arrested 17 people in connection with the burning of Mufumbwe Police Station and two vehicles.
Meanwhile, President Edgar Lungu has directed Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo to ensure that the perpetrators of the arson case are brought to book.
Three police officers were injured in the incident, which happened on Saturday.
Police spokesperson Esther Katongo and provincial police chief Auxensio Daka confirmed the incident.
Ms Katongo said the residents set the station on fire following an attempt by police to stop them from conducting what is locally called ‘Chikondo’.
Chikondo is a practice by the local people in which a coffin carrying a deceased person suspected to have been bewitched refuses to be buried, but it instead leads them to a person who caused the death.
Ms Katongo said yesterday that the residents wanted to conduct the procession following the death of a grade 11 pupil of Jairo Fumpa Secondary School, Matha Mingochi, of Kakilufya area in Mufumbwe, who died last Friday.
When the police officers advised the mourners to stop the procession, Ms Katongo said the mob resorted to throwing stones at them, a situation that led the officers to retreat to the police station.
She said the mob, however, charged at the officers and raided the police station and burnt it, a situation that resulted in two vehicles and office materials being burnt as well.
“The mob was following a suspected wizard who they accused of causing the death of the deceased but by then, he had not yet been found,” Ms Katongo said in a statement yesterday.
The officers were identified as Constable Kamwengo, Sergeant Tembo and Reserve Constable Munangandu.
The burnt motor vehicles were a Canter belonging to Inspector Kalunyange and a Toyota Noah, the property of Nelson Nkinke which was parked at the police station by court bailiffs.
Ms Katongo said the Police Command was disappointed at the continued behaviour by members of the public of venting their anger on public property and that police would not allow people to disregard the law with impunity.
Ms Katongo said destroying police stations did not disadvantage the officers, but the same residents.
Mr Daka was saddened with the unruly behaviour of the Mufumbwe residents, saying they threw stones and followed police officers that had retreated and later burnt the station, two vehicles and office materials.
Mr Daka said police were also trying to establish the whereabouts of the suspected wizard that was accused of bewitching the school-girl.
And President Lungu told journalists at City Airport upon arrival from the Copperbelt that Zambians should abhor ‘ancient’ traditional practices that led to the burning of the Mufumbwe police station.
“The police are doing their best but some of these cultural beliefs; chikondo, chikondo it doesn’t make sense and I think let us begin enlightening ourselves that some of these things have got no place in modern day society,” the President said. “If you follow what happened, it’s unfortunate”.