By STEVEN ZANDE –
INVESTIGATIVE wings have received positive response from members of the public who have been volunteering information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of people who are responsible for the fires that have gutted public infrastructure, Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo has said.
Mr Kampyongo said the information filtering through from ordinary citizens would help expedite investigations into the alleged acts of economic sabotage.
“I call upon all citizens to issue responsible statements. Don’t abuse social media platforms because soon we are going to zero in on all the people who are involved in this,” the minister said.

KAMPYONGO

He said this on Sunday when he featured on a ZNBC weekly programme ‘The Sunday Interview’.
Mr Kampyongo said the invocation of Article 31 of the Constitution would help Police detain suspects for longer periods of time to allow a thorough investigation into suspected criminal activities.
He said the police had previously faced challenges in adequately investigating acts of criminality, resulting in early release of suspects who ended up committing the same offences when outside.
Mr Kampyongo assured Zambians that the Government was working to bring to book the people behind the acts of sabotage.
The minister said President Edgar Lungu had tried to maintain peace through dialogue with political stakeholders, but some unknown people had continued to engage in acts that threatened peace in the country.
Mr Kampyongo said Zambia was a democratic State, hence Government would not be heavy handed when dealing with suspected law breakers.
He said the sequence of the fires and vandalism on public property demonstrated that the events were not isolated but a result of organised crime.
Mr Kampyongo said his ministry was working in collaboration with its Finance counterpart to find funds that would help establish a robust security unit at Home Affairs, which would expeditiously counter terrorist activities to ensure sustained security in the nation.
The Government would also install closed circuit video (CCTV) cameras in all public places to improve monitoring of public institutions for security reasons.