Terror of Lusaka

Mon, 15 May 2017 13:07:18 +0000

WE applaud Lusaka City Council and the Zambia Police Service for launching a campaign to root out illegality and the impunity reigning supreme in some parts of Lusaka, which have contributed to the high crime rate in the city and turned the capital into a huge red light district.

At least 250 people were arrested in the Matero area alone last Friday night when council and State police swung into action, raiding illegal drinking places and those operating outside their stipulated hours, arresting the patrons and shunting them to police stations for detention.

There was drama when police descended on the notorious ‘‘Devil Street’’ near Melissa shopping centre – the narrow, devious alley opposite one of the biggest churches in Lusaka – as ladies of the night fled in their skimpy skirts with police in hot pursuit. As eye-witnesses put it, it was a night to remember.

Lusaka residents complain bitterly at the rising levels of people disregarding the law and doing as they pleased.

These illegalities have spawned a high crime rate which has turned some compounds into virtual no-go areas after 19 hours as residents barricade themselves in their homes for fear of being attacked and robbed, sometimes in broad day light, by marauding gangs of young criminals who rule the dark, unlit streets in many of these areas.

We carried last week reports of Mandevu and other nearby compound residents pleading for security and police protection. They claimed that they were living in terror as a day hardly passed without someone being mugged outside their homes or robbed of their property in their houses.

One of the victims, Mr Chola Phiri, said he was walking to his home last Monday at 18.30 hours when a man who was following behind attacked him, striking him on the head with an iron bar. He woke up hours later in a pool of blood but managed to crawl to his home to seek help.

We agree police cannot be everywhere and guard every home but there is a lot they can do to make their presence felt and assure residents of security. The four-hour operation in the Matero area, which the council says will be extended to Chilenje, Kabwata and Libala, can  do a lot to calm nerves and send a strong signal to would-be law breakers that the police will brook no nonsense.

The lawlessness creeping into our society is frightening. Beer is sold openly in council cemeteries such as Chingwere, Chunga and even Leopards Hill. Because of the indecent pursuit of money, under-age drinking and child prostitution have become the order of the day.

Bar owners do not care about the age of their patrons as long as they have the money. The business principle of ‘‘gula wala akazi awele’’ allows bar owners to tolerate school-girls in their night clubs to attract patronage.

Bars are built and opened within school grounds, church buildings and private homes. Residents wonder what happened to the planning authorities. Mrs Josephine Banda, a resident of Emmasdale sums up the parents’ agony when she says: ‘‘The community cannot raise children under such conditions and it is unacceptable that bars should be allowed to operate not only at odd hours but in residential areas too.’’

According to the council, 15 night clubs had their licenses seized during the Friday police blitz, 100-150 crates of beer and spirits confiscated. And now a fast track court has been opened to deal with erring bar owners who will be fined not less than K10,000 if convicted.

We need such draconian laws to deal with the impunity engulfing the capital city of Zambia.