LUSAKA, June 4 - Home affairs deputy minister Kennedy Sakeni has called on the security wings and the nation at large to be on alert following a spate of bomb threats that have rocked Lusaka. Sakeni told ZNBC yesterday that Zambia faced threats of terrorism like any other country, hence the need for security personnel to be on high alert.
He asked Zambians to report any suspicious looking characters to the security agencies.
But Sakeni said the bomb scares were acts of desperate politicians who wanted to create despondency in the country.
He said the security personnel were on the ground investigating the matter and the government was not taking the bomb scares lightly.
There have been two bomb scares at the Ministry of Finance and Zambia Revenue Authority offices in Lusaka this week.
And in a joint statement, Zambia Alliance for Progress (ZAP) leader Dean Mung'omba and Heritage Party member Dante Saunders described Sakeni's statement as irresponsible, careless and cheap politicking.
"One would expect that any statement on such serious matters should be of well researched and thorough investigations," read the statement in part. "Mr. Sakeni must know that his job and that of his ministry is not about casual and careless statements which cause more panic and division in the country."
Both Mung'omba and Saunders stated that Sakeni's statement was meant to divide the nation.
"As politicians, we take great exception to Mr. Sakeni's statement," read the statement. "We are tired and fed up with the incompetence and carelessness of this government."
Mung'omba and Saunders asked Sakeni to apologise to the opposition parties for his scandalous and injurious statement.
However, both Mung'omba and Saunders condemned acts of bomb scares and terrorism.
The duo demanded for full investigations and disclosures of the findings to ensure the culprits were brought to book.
"These statements from Mr. Sakeni are all too familiar when a government becomes insecure and seeks to intimidate and harass innocent citizens and declaration of states of emergency," read the statement. |
