Sun, 13 Aug 2017 10:00:14 +0000
By CHIKUMBI KATEBE AND KALOBWE BWALYA
ATTEMPTS by renegade Chishimba Kambwili and Musenge Mwenya to politicize the Bemba traditional ceremony, Kusefya pa Ngwena were yesterday rebuffed by the Royal Establishment which banished them from the event.
The Royal Establishment decided to deny Kambwili and his entourage an invitation to this year’s ukusefya pangw’ena in order to preserve the integrity of the traditional ceremony.
Speaking through the Bemba Royal Establishment spokesperson during an interview from the Pangw’ena palace yesterday, the establishment officially communicated the position not to welcome Kambwili to the ceremony to both the Northern Province Police Commissioner Richard Mweene and the provincial administration. Earlier Kambwili claimed that heavily armed policemen has blocked him from attending the event where he had expected a rousing welcome. “We were not ready to subject our guests especially the traditional leaders from the South to his political gimmicks, frustrations, hate speech or propaganda,” said the royal establishment spokesperson.
“We communicated this position to both the police commissioner and Northern provincial administration,” stressed ba mwine Lubemba.
“There is no room for tribal talk during ukusefya pangw’ena. There is no room for division, propaganda, sheer political gimmicks or hate speech. We are privileged to receive about 20 guests who are traditional leaders from across the nation and we would like them to enjoy and appreciate ukusefya pangw’ena for the uniting ceremony it is and devoid of any hidden political agenda,” he added.
In response, Northern province Police Commissioner Richard Mweene called on Roan members of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili and his entourage to abide by the decision of his royal Highness, Paramount chief Chitimukulu.
Mr Mweene said it was not true that Mr Kambwili was blocked by the police. And Chief Government spokesperson Kampamba Mulenga stated that Government had no hand in Mr Kambili’s to attend the ceremony. Ms Mulenga said Mr Kambwili was instead stopped from attending the ceremony by the Chitimukulu because of his alleged tribal remarks suggesting that there was tention between the bembas and tongas.
She said contrary to Mr Kambwili’s remarks, the presence of nine chiefs from Southern Province at the ceremony was a sign that there was no tension between the people of the two Provinces. Ms Mulenga said it was unfortunate that Mr Kambwili had continued to issue tribal remarks in the media.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Musenge said, he did not understand why the duo were stopped from attending the traditional ceremony by police officers at a road block.
Mr Musenge claimed that police officers mounted the road block around 09:00 hours, near Lukashya Bridge upon seen them and were asked to park aside and wait for Northern province police commissioner Richard Mweene to speak to them. “As we were heading to the ceremony, then from nowhere we just saw a road block mounted for us and we were stopped by the police officers to park aside and wait for Northern Province police commissioner Mr Richard Mweene to come,
“And when the commissioner came he only told us that we were not allowed to attend the ceremony as those were the instructions given and we are now on our way back home,” said Mr Musenge. And Kambwili who claimed to have spoken to Mwine Lubemba on Friday about him attending the event, revealed that Paramount Chief Chitimukulu warned him to leave the province to avoid bloodshed. “When we reached the road block we were stopped by the police who told us that they have been instructed not to allow us in. So I told them to say you can’t stop me from attending this traditional ceremony, a traditional ceremony of my own land because I am from the Royal family, “I called Chief Chitimukulu and I spoke to him and he said he was surprised that it was the police who stopped us to attend the ceremony because he was told that the PF youths were the ones who mounted a road block,” he said
