Potipher Tembo
26 February 2008
Ndola — IT was on December 27, 2007 when Benard Chipengele and eight other men from Kalubuli village in Nchelenge district, Luapula Province, set off with their banana boats on Lake Mweru to go fishing.
Despite having full knowledge of a fish ban, commonly known in the local language as icibindo, Chipengele and his cohorts paddled on the lake and, kilometres away from their village, they cast their nets to catch some fish.
Elsewhere in Mukwakwa, Kalungwishi, Kasungwa and Chipuma villages, other fishermen were on the lake for the same reason.
But Chipengele's plans, like those of other fishermen, were not to come to fruition, because three days later, they met a group of people claiming to be security officers from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
These DRC people were in a speed boat patrolling the lake to enforce the fish ban that had taken effect on December 1.
The men made several incursions on the Zambian side of Lake Mweru and apprehended and detained those they found violating the annual fish ban.
According to some people in Mukwakwa village who had been apprehended but later set free after being fined, the security officers claimed that they had been allowed by the Zambian authorities to encroach Zambian waters and help in the enforcement of the fish ban.
A 15-year-old Mukwakwa village resident, John Mwelwa, who was one of the victims apprehended but later released after his father, Cosmas Kaunda, paid a ransom of K50, 000, said they saw a big boat approaching them on the lake.
But oblivious of who the men in the boat really were, John and his Zambian compatriots thoight that, as it always happened, the people in the boat had come from DRC to buy bags of salt from Zambia.
But what was surprising was that the 11 people on the boat were armed with guns.
They asked the nine Zambians to jump into their boat before they moved to Kalungwishi island where other Zambians were apprehended.
On the island, the 11 men explained that they had sent their colleagues to go and buy fuel and were hungry, needing something to eat while they waited for their friends to come back.
It was then that they asked the fishermen they found on Kalungwishi Island to cast their net on the lake so that they could catch a bit of fish for their relish.
"As the people they asked to catch the fish started to pull the net, the men produced the guns. For fear of being shot, some people jumped on the lake to try and flee but they were apprehended.
"We cried for mercy. We pleaded with them to let us go because we had not done anything wrong to deserve any kind of punishment," narrated Mwelwa.
He said the men then demanded money but since there was no one with money, among those apprehended, Mwelwa's brother, Patson Mpundu, was held hostage and tied with ropes while he (Mwelwa) and two men went to Mukwakwa village to get some money for ransom.
At the village, Mwelwa explained to his father what predicament had befallen his brother and why it was important that he gave the money to the two men for his brother to be released.
Mr Kaunda said after his son had explained what had happened, he had no option but to part away with K50, 000 - the only money he had at the time.
"The boys left this place at around 08:00 hours and we did not know what had happened to them until 20:00 hours when they sent one of my sons with two men to come and get money.
"They told Mwelwa that he had to go back to the lake with the money alone and if more than one other persons accompanied him, they would shoot them. The men demanded a lot of money but I only had K50, 000 which I gave them.
"Thank God they released my son without any harm," said Mr Kaunda who is a businessman at Mukwakwa village.
He said he was glad that his boys were not molested but he was saddened that the other people who were apprehended with the boys were not set free.
On this particular day in January, five Zambians were apprehended at Kalungwishi Island and three at Mukwakwa.
Although news had reached the village that the captives had escaped, no one had been seen at the village.
However, one escapee found in Mununga-Chiengi explained that he made a dramatic escape after making a makeshift sailing boat from the camp where they were kept after being apprehended in December.
"We were treated very badly and I was scared. All I knew was that we were going to be killed and it was for this reason that I thought of a way to escape. I made a sailing boat by tying a piece of tent I had stolen from the camp where the people who were guarding us were sleeping to two cross-shaped sticks which I fixed to the boat.
"It was after midnight and after I had done this, I awoke my friends and told them that we should escape because it was now or never. My friends were afraid and refused to escape saying if it was found out that we had run away, the officers would follow and kill us once they caught up with us.
I made up my mind and jumped into the boat after pushing it on the lake. Fortunately, the wind was blowing towards Zambia and it was around 04.00 hours when I reached the shore on the Zambian side of the lake," said the man who decided to remain anonymous.
Another escapee, Derrick Cheulu, of Kapampali village in Mununga, said he and four other men escaped from their captors last week but he was the only one who arrived at the village and did not know where the other three friends were.
"We were four of us who ran away. We scattered in different directions and I followed the electricity pylons, which I guessed were taking power to DRC. I did not know whether the direction I was heading to was right but finally I found myself in Chiengi. There were other people I came to learn had also escaped from the captors. From Chiengi, a good Samaritan gave us a lift to Mununga," said Cheulu.
At Kalubuli village which is one of the fishing camps in Nchelenge, Chipengele described the experience of captivity as hell on earth.
As spokesperson for the other seven people who managed to escape, Chipengele said it was on December 27, 2007 when they set off for the lake to catch some fish which they needed to sell to raise money for the New Year festivities and to keep some for their relish.
Around 10:00 hours on December 30, 11 men who had come on a speed boat approached them and accused them of defying the fish ban.
He said the men explained that they had agreed with the Zambian authorities to arrest those who defied the fish ban on the Zambian side while Zambian officers were also arresting those fishing on the DRC side of the lake.
"We did not go far from home. We were on the Zambian side of the lake and we only wanted to catch a bit of fish to sell and have a bit of money for New Year and keep some for our pots.
"The men came with guns and demanded K1 million and when we said we did not have the money, they apprehended us. They undressed us leaving us only with our under pants and tied both our hands and put us in their big boat.
"One of our friends tried to commit suicide by jumping onto the lake but he was retrieved. When we reached the shore on the DRC side, the man who wanted to commit suicide was given 25 strokes of the cane and he fainted," said Chipengele.
The captives were then taken to a place called Lukonzolo. There, they were made to sleep naked although it was cold and raining.
When they were taken to the camp where they found other captives, they were subjected to five strokes of the cane every two hours.
The day they were apprehended, they were not given any food for the whole day and for 13 days of their captivity, they were not allowed to bath.
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