Occupying Zambia Police arrest BIs and confiscate the UNPO flag
by Maoyo Nanikelako
The occupying Zambia Police waylaid five Barotse Imilemas (BIs) at Mabumbu on their way from Limulunga, wrestled the UNPO flag from them and tried to tear it on Thursday 29th October 2015 in a clear act of defying the peaceful disengagement of Barotseland from the rest of Zambia. The police officers who wrestled the UNPO flag from the BIs and tried to tear it are Chishiba and Mutapa. This follows Edwin’s decision of abandoning the Barotse National Council Resolutions of March 27, 2012 and turning himself into an agent of the occupying Zambia regime. He is now working behinds the scenes with Edgar to allow the Zambian regime to continue oppressing and suppressing the Human Rights of the People of Barotseland. The Police asked the BIs to accompany them to the Mongu Central Police station where they were arrested. The BIs, named: Sinonge Lutangu, Saveour Mumbera, Siyunyi Siyunyi, Jeff Aongola Mwinga and Kutoma Kutoma, were on a fundraising mission in Mongu and Limulunga while displaying the UNPO flag. They were fundraising to enable the six BIs to travel to Kaoma for the hearing of their court case on an assortment of trumped up charges scheduled for 3rdNovember 2015. The assortment of charges include, conduct likely to cause breach of peace, assault on police officers, obstructing police from carrying out their duties and resisting arrest. The six BIs were earlier arrested for announcing to hold a rally of which the police were dully notified. The rally was scheduled for 2nd October 2015 but could not be allowed by the police for unspecified security reasons in clear violation of the Right to assemble and association. The five BIs were earlier charged with ‘conduct likely to cause breach of peace’. Realizing that the charge was unlikely to hold, the Police secretly sneaked Saviour out of the police cell to his home where they conducted a search for unspecified items without any search warrant on Saturday 31st October 2015. Their illegal search yielded nothing. They intended to sneak the detainees one at a time to conduct illegal house searches. On 1st November 2015 the charge changed to ‘going around Mongu with seditious intentions', in clear violation of their Right to freedom of movement and association. The BNFA Chairperson-General, Honorable Clement Wainyae Sinyinda, met the Police command on Friday, 30th October 2015 in the morning and cautioned them against their continued Human Rights violations of the People of Barotseland. He advised the Commissioner of Police to desist from being used by politicians to antagonize the People of Barotseland. He pointed out that the Zambian regime is illegally administering Barotseland and the embattled Barotse Royal Establishment has lost the authority and confidence of the People of Barotseland. The international community is called upon to stop these serious human rights violations against the People of Barotseland by the occupying Zambian regime and avert the brewing bloody conflict in the making. The Barotse nationals are being provoked to react and it may not be long before the situation gets out of control. They should no longer stand on the fence but prevail on the Zambian regime to vacate Barotseland.