While we condemn ritual murders and gassing, Mob Justice must be condemned too, prods Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba

Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Emmanuel Mwamba

WHILE we condemn ritual murders and gassing, Mob Justice must be condemned too.

The reports of gassing or ritual murders are appaling frightening to our communities and must be condemned in clear terms.

But of serious concern are the videos showing mobs beating, burning and killing suspects…this thirst for blood, lusting for blood is strange..its not Zambian.

“Timushoke”, “tishoka”, “tiza shoka” are words being spoken as inevitable punishment awaiting suspects of ritual murders or gassing.

Clearly this is not us, this thirst for blood is a culture that must be nipped in the bud before it bears lasting fruits and consequences.

Remember in many instance, these people might be innocent or caught up in circumstances that might appear like they are guilty.

I recognize that Zambia has never had such coordinated attacks on innocent people almost qualifying the heinous crime as terrorism, but our response to it must not make us lose the essence of who we are.

I cringe with fear because I saw communities, stone, burn, and kill suspected foreign nationals in similar manner in South Africa. I condemned it and helped raise a strong lobby against xenophobic attacks.

We can’t look the other way because it’s our people killing suspected ritual murders or “gassers”.

So while the Police search for the people plotting and committing these evil schemes, and seeking to bring them to Justice, we should never allow our communities to lose respect for life and descend into mob justice and mob killings….it has serious consequences on the life of our country.