LUSAKA — ABOUT nine Zambians from Sinazongwe have been arrested and detained at Binga Police Station in Zimbabwe for alleged illegal entry and fishing in that country.
Sinazongwe district commissioner Dodo Sindaza has expressed concern over the number of Zambians being arrested and shot dead on the Zimbabwean side of Lake Kariba.
Police officers at Maamba Police Station in Sinazongwe informed Sindaza on Friday about the latest incident where nine Zambians had been apprehended and detained by Zimbabwean law enforcement officers for entering the neighbouring country illegally.
According to the officers, the Zambians, all from Sinazongwe, were allegedly found fishing on the shores of Lake Kariba on the Zimbabwean side.
Sindaza said the situation should be checked before it got out of hand as records showed that a good number of Zambians had been shot dead by police officers from Zimbabwe.
He directed the Zambian security wings to dialogue with their Zimbabwean counterparts over the issue and devise better ways of handling people found fishing on either side of Lake Kariba.
Sindaza, however, said Zambian security officials were not shooting Zimbabweans found fishing on the Zambian side of Lake Kariba, but merely apprehended them and applied the law accordingly.
He also directed the Department of Fisheries to get involved and sensitise communities to be mindful of the laws and regulations related to fishing and other activities on the lake.
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Sindaza illustrated that recently, Zimbabwean police officers had shot and killed a 30-year-old Maamba resident, Robinson Kasaka, when he, together with three others attempted to flee from Zimbabwean security officers on Lake Kariba. Sindaza said out of the four, Zimbabwean security officers managed to apprehend one while two others escaped.
Zambians Southern province deputy police chief Milner Muyambango said relevant authorities from Zambia were trying to negotiate with Zimbabwean counterpart to release the fishermen. — Post Zambia
