BNFA MEETS GRZ PS IN BAROTSELAND—PROTESTS TO THE LUNGU LED ADMINISTRATION OVER IT’S CONTINUED HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN BAROTSELAND
by Mungandi wa Muwina-Mungandi, BNFA Secretary General
The BNFA delegation used the meeting to vehemently protest to Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his regime against the Zambian government’s continued Human Rights violations of the people of Barotseland, demanding that the abuses should cease forthwith because they are not a solution to the situation and if anything they are a sure recipe for heightened tension and escalated frustrations and atrocities. The delegation also used the occasion to deliver a protest document protest document (click here for html) to the Zambia President.
The high powered Barotse National Freedom Alliance (BNFA) delegation comprising the Chairman General Hon. Clement Wainyae Sinyinda, Deputy Chairman General for Political Mobilization and Administration Nyambe Namushi, Secretary General Mungandi wa Muwina-Mungandi and member of the Legal Committee Mubukwanu Lubasi met the GRZ Permanent Secretary (PS) for Barotseland Mr. Mwangala Liomba in the company of some provincial security chiefs from both the Zambia Police and the Office of the President. This meeting took place on the morning of Tuesday 6th October, 2015 at the PS’s Board Room in Mongu-Lealui.
The meeting was organized by the provincial security chiefs at the height of tension over the BNFA Public Rally planned for 2nd October 2015 of which the Zambian Police was dully notified according to the current laws of the occupying Zambian regime. The Police was trying to block the public rally on instructions from Lusaka. The reason being advanced by ‘Lusaka’ then was that the Barotseland issue was being discussed at a higher level in Lusaka, which reason baffled not only the BNFA leadership but also the Police command because if the Barotseland issue was being discussed anywhere at all, the BNFA leadership should have been in the know as well as actually being involved. If anything, BNFA was a key stakeholder. The 2nd October Public Rally was not permitted by the police and ended up being postponed to a later date soon to be announced.
Among other things, the BNFA highlighted the following in their verbal presentations:
- Incarceration of Barotse Nationals which started in 1965 (50 years ago) is not a solution to the Barotse issue. It hasn’t worked over the past 50 years and it will not work ever. If the Zambian government is looking for solutions it should immediately change tactics.
- The right to assembly is a HUMAN RIGHT the only way the Barotse people will stop demanding it is if they will be convinced that they are not human beings. By suppressing open public meetings the Zambian government is encouraging dark corner meetings the consequences of which are too ghastly to contemplate.
- Barotseland is much bigger than the Litunga or some select members of the BRE any genuine solution to the Barotse problem must involve all stakeholders who include civil society organizations like BNFA and the other levels of BRE. This should be based on the resolutions of the March 2012 BNC. Dark corner meetings with this or that personality simply isn’t the way to go as opposed to an open and transparent engagement process.
- The Rodger Chongwe Commission must be released by the Zambian government so that the world should know what the people of Barotseland said and what the commissioners recommended and why the Zambian government is not following the recommendations of its own Commission.
Other than the verbal submissions the BNFA delegation had also prepared a protest document (click here for html) which was handed over to the PS for onward transmission to the President Mr Edgar C. Lungu.
The PS in return asked a few questions particularly on the mode of dialogue and engagement that was envisaged. He went further to stress that the President, Mr. Edgar C. Lungu, himself was more than willing to resolve the Barotseland issue in a mutually accepted way and in accordance with internationally accepted norms. He actually emphasised that on this point he was willing to be quoted without fear or favour.
BNFA hopes that the Zambian Government has heard them loud and clear as it intends to continue with its outreach program of mass sensitization by conducting open public meetings all over the Kingdom of Barotseland because they believe they have nothing to hide as they are demanding for that which is theirs by RIGHT and they are doing so using non-violent means.