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Zambian, Tanzanian villagers clash over trader’s death
2006-09-01 10:13:40
By John Lubungo, PST Tunduma
Chaos reigned for the past two days at a border point between Tanzania and Zambia villagers, following news of the death of a prominent Mbeya businessman at the hands of Zambian police early this week.
The police on both sides of the border were unable to control the chaos as villagers fought running battles that security forces were unable to quell.
Police were forced to shoot in the air to disperse villagers who were armed with all manner of weapons - stones, clubs, spears, machetes, bows and arrows.
The fighting resulted from reports of the death of a prominent Tanzanian trader, Lucas Msuya, a resident of Tunduma, who allegedly died while being interrogated by Zambian police. The deceased was being held at the Nakonde Police Station.
Reached for comment, Mbeya Regional Police Commander Suleiman Kova said Msuya was arrested by Nakonde police on August 17 in connection with an armed robbery.
Kova confirmed that Msuya died on Monday this week. He added that the police in Mbeya and Mbozi were working with their Zambian counterparts to establish the cause of the trader’s death, who is known by his nickname Mangi.
Kova said Nakonde police had alleged before the businessman’s death that he and an accomplice whose name was given as Alex Nzowa broke into a house of a Zambian policeman in a civilian residential area of Nakonde and stole property of unspecified value.
He said, however, the deceased was not arrested at the scene of robbery, but his name had been mentioned by Nzowa (another Tanzanian suspect) who is still in custody in connection with the robbery.
Mbozi district security and defence committee visited the Nakonde Police Station, led by Acting Mbozi District Commissioner Leonard Magacha,to hear the suspect’s side of the story.
However, Nzowa maintained that their two Zambian accomplices managed to escape.
It was reported that Nzowa assured the committee that Msuya was wrongly implicated in the robbery.
The body of the deceased is yet to be collected for burial by his next of kin as it was still reportedly as being detained by the Zambian police.
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