Tongas were never targeted for tribal hatred - Hamukale

…explains that PF-era cadre violence was driven by extortion, not regional hatred, as he says it is not true that Zambians from Southern Province were being beaten each time they came to Lusaka’s Inter-City Bus Terminus

By NATION REPORTER

CLAIMS that people from Southern Province were specifically targeted and beaten whenever they arrived at Lusaka’s Inter-City Bus Terminus during the Patriotic Front (PF) administration are false and misleading, Dr Edify Hamukale has said.

Dr Hamukale, the former Southern Province Minister says while cadre violence and harassment were prevalent during the PF administration, the victims were not singled out on the basis of their region of origin or indeed tribe but were instead targeted by people seeking to extort money from the public.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Dr Hamukale said he had access to intelligence reports throughout his tenure and never received any evidence suggesting that people from Southern Province were specifically being attacked because of where they came from.

“It is totally untrue to allege that only people from Southern Province were harassed or beaten each time they came to Lusaka. I superintended over an entire province and I had access to classified information. Not once did I receive such reports. But I am speaking as a Zambian, and right now I am in Ndola,” Dr Hamukale said.

He admitted that caderism was widespread in Lusaka and parts of the Copperbelt during the PF administration but maintained that it was a criminal enterprise motivated by financial gain rather than tribal or regional discrimination.

“What I do know is that there was caderism in Lusaka. There was general caderism involving the harassment of people and the illegal collection of money. But I do not think it was targeting a particular group of people. This harassment was all over in major towns like Lusaka and the Copperbelt,” he said.

Dr Hamukale explained that individuals operating at bus stations, markets and parking areas exploited anyone they believed could be forced to part with money.

“That harassment was not targeted at any particular region. That is a lie. All those people at Inter-City wanted was to collect money and they didn’t care from whom. So, to claim that only people from one province or region were beaten is a pure blue lie,” he said.

He also noted that the current political environment was significantly more peaceful than previous election periods, allowing both ruling and opposition parties to campaign freely.

“This is one of the most peaceful elections I have seen in decades. The opposition is campaigning freely, the ruling party is campaigning freely and people are no longer being harassed at bus stations and markets the way they were before,” Dr Hamukale said.

Ends.