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Tunduma incident: Forge true cordial relations
2006-09-06 09:14:42
By Editor
There is a serious lesson derived from the ugly incident witnessed last week at the Tanzania-Zambia border post is that it should not to be repeated.
The incident, or rather a series of them, that included looting, torching of vehicles by gangs of hooligans were no doubt triggered by the death of a Tanzanian businessman whilst in custody of the Zambian police.
Needless to say, many major inter-state conflicts in the world were triggered by very small incidents. Some of them much smaller than the death of a person in foreign custody.
The First World War, for example, was said to have been triggered by an incident not related to the deaths, devastation and the carnage that befell mankind almost a century ago.
Many believe that the situation at any manned border point in the world is akin to powder-kegs, in that it can explode at the slightest mishap.
This is because some of the activities carried out at such places could be illegal. Hence, more often than not, authorities on both sides tend to avoid responsibility.
They are places where local people intermingle freely and even intermarry. They are also places where governments of the concerned countries prefer to treat as icons whenever they talk of ’the existing cordial relations between their two countries.’
Sure, one cannot brag of ’cordial relations’ between Tanzania and Zambia with ugly incidents like the one that took place at the two countries’ border post.
In the circumstances, the need for the maintenance of harmonious relations among people living at border posts cannot be overemphasized.
And the way for this should always be shown by authorities starting from the top.
There should be regular contacts by officials of the two sides. These contacts should also be undertaken by higher officials from the bordering districts and/or regions or provinces.
We believe that had such contacts been made regularly, such nasty incidents like the one of last week would be greatly minimized.
For instance, police officials from both sides would have contacted each other over the placing in custody of the Tanzanian trader at a police station in Zambia.
In fact this calls for the need to have in place some legal instrument struck by the two friendly countries for the extradition of criminals at the border points.
Whilst we should put the Tunduma incident behind us, the situation at another major border post - Namanga - between Tanzania and Kenya should be looked into.
Of late, there have been complaints from our immigration officials that the about 100-metre wide ’no man’ land’ or buffer zone between the two sides at the border post is now home to hundreds of hawkers who have built up some structures for their activities.
Reports say these pose great danger to security including the proper functioning of official activities at the border.
We are certain that the situation is already known to the authorities and proper action will be taken.
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