Residents of Kampasa village in Chongwe where two people were shot and killed by Zambia National Service (ZNS) officers have asked area Member of Parliament (MP) Sylvia Masebo to sober up and stop politicking over the matter.
Some residents interviewed at the weekend said Masebo was a senior minister in the government and her behavior must rise above politics when dealing with sensitive matters such as the recent killing of people.
The residents said they were very disappointed with Masebo who had turned her visit and that of UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema to the funeral houses of the deceased into a political activity.
Violet Luputa said that the prominent PF MP must not pretend to show remorse and commitment to the land wrangle because she had been MP for Chongwe for over 10 years but had regularly ignored the people’s concerns over the Kampasa land impasse.
“Masebo has been our MP for a very long time. It is not right for her to try and show commitment to the matter now that people have died. She only came here for votes, but she was aware of the problem we have. We don’t want her to be speaking very well on this problem. We want her to stop focusing on politics because even those from UPND and MMD who are visiting us are welcome. They are our relatives. Let Masebo focus on finding the solution to out the problem,” she said.
Another resident, Joe Mwampatshya, said that the people of Kampasa were tired of Masebo’s political antics. He said the MP must stop behaving as though she only knew about the problem in Kampasa recently when the fact of the matter was that Masebo knew about the land wrangle in Kampasa area for more than a year.
Mr Mwampatshya said Masebo must realize that 2016 is not far away when the people shall vote her out of power because she had been favouring the people of Chongwe Central where she originated.
He said Masebo must realize that Chongwe constituency was wide and it was important for Masebo to accommodate all the people instead of only focusing on those she thought were Patrotic Front (PF) sympathysers.
“Our MP has known about the problem of land here for a long time. She is now trying to look holy and is blaming the MMD when she has been our MP all along,” Mwampatshya said. “Two innocent and defenceless people have been killed by the same soldiers who are supposed to protect them and our MP is only talking politics and fighting those she thinks are threats to her government. When miners were shot and killed in South Africa, the government took big measures and up to now, senior police officers are still appearing for questioning and those responsible are being brought to book. This is what we call justice and this is what we want here not what Masebo is doing. We wonder whether we shall ever see justice over this matter.”
And Macmillan Chungufu, another resident of Kampasa, said Masebo must focus her attention on resolving the land impasse instead of stopping people with divergent political views from visiting Kampasa.
Chungufu said it was embarrassing for Masebo to organise PF hooligans from Lusaka to cause confusion in Kampasa. He said UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema should not have been chased when he visited the funeral homes for the deceased villagers because he was always welcme to Chongwe during other events such as the annual Chakwela Makumbi traditional ceremony of the Soli people, which is hosted by Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya.
“Our MP must not shift attention to politics. We want her to help us resolve this problem. She is at the centre of this because she has been here for a long time and we want her not to encourage fighting among politicians. Those from the opposition are welcome in the same way we invite and welcome them during Chakwela Makumbi. All we want is a solution over the land issues as well as justice over the killing of people. We have never seen this kind of brutality before. We want a good case and those who are guilty to be brought before the law. Those who were killed have left orphans and other dependants, whose future we have to consider. We want the MP to help us find a solution to these questions instead of bringing politics as the case is now,” he said.
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