. Lungu

By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has assured Chief Sinazongwe of the Tonga people in Southern Province that the Government will beef up security in his chiefdom to investigate the reported mysterious killings.
This was after the traditional ruler appealed to President Lungu to intervene and beef up security in the chiefdom following the death of 20 people in mysterious circumstances.
The traditional leader told the President when he paid a courtesy call on him at his palace on Wednesday that 20 people were killed mysteriously in his chiefdom between 2015 and 2016.
He said nobody knew the people who were behind the killings and their motive.
Chief Sinazongwe asked the President to intervene and beef up security in the area by creating more police posts and supplying police officers with enough fuel to enable them undertake patrols to curb crime.
“Last week we were burying another man.They killed him around 16 hours in Mwezya Ward and the number is now 20. We don’t know who is killing these innocent people and now we are scared,”Chief Sinazongwe said.
He also called on the Government to consider promoting police officers,especially those in rural areas to motivate them.
The chief informed the President that the chiefdom had some islands and people needed water transport like boats to enable them vote in the elections.
“We have a lot of our members on the islands. Remember last time they gave us 12,000 votes but I expect this year the number will increase and we need water transport to collect them from the island three days before elections to come and cast their votes,” Chief Sinazongwe said.
He also told the President that game rangers had not been paid for a long time and it would not be wrong for anyone to suspect them of engaging in illegal activities because of not being paid.
Chief Sinzongwe, further, told the President that four families belonging to the opposition had been rejecting an irrigation project to be taken to the chiefdom since the reign of President Michael Sata.
He said the project was important for his chiefdom as it would help in curbing hunger.
On violence, the chief told the President that he had taken a deliberate move of featuring on a community radio to denounce violence.
President Lungu in response assured that police officers would be sent to the area to investigate the reported mysterious killings.
Mr Lungu was happy that the traditional leader had taken a stance to curb violence which hadcharacterised this year‘s election campaigns.
He also told the chief that relief food would be dispatched to the district to quell the hunger situation.
President Lungu was in Southern Province for a two-day official visit  to drum up support for PF candidates, including himself, in theAugust 11, 2016 elections.