Church calls national prayers for missing Hatembos

By AARON CHIYANZO THE  nation should observe national prayers for the Hatembo family who were cruelly abducted about two months ago in Choma because this kind of “barbaric” and terror act has never been seen in Zambia before, the Bible Gospel Church in Africa (BIGOCA) has said. The church demanded that the Choma family  be released immediately. BIGOCA general overseer, Bishop Peter Ndhlovu said Zambia was not a “kangaroo” republic where people could simply disappear without trace or for innocent citizens to be subjected to inhumane and terror acts.  It is almost two months since Pheluna Hatembo and her brother disappeared, now her cerebral palsy afflicted 35-year-old daughter is ill, vomiting blood and pus. The daughter, Nasilele Nyambe, was on Tuesday escorted to the Choma General Hospital by her elder sister Abigail who pleaded with abductors to release their mother. The last time they saw their mother was when she was bundled to Lusaka where she signed a statement condemning her lawyers for indicating an intention to appeal against a ruling that dispossessed them of their 2000-hectare farm to Mr. Hakainde Hichilema. Bishop Ndhlovu said owing to the manner the Hatembos were abducted, the people behind the kidnap were heartless. He called on investigative wings to dig deeper to ensure that the abducted family members are quickly reunited with their children and the culprits brought to book. “This is unZambian and should not be tolerated,” said Bishop Ndhlovu. The family have since disputed the “withdrawal” of the appeal, stating that they had sat and decided to appeal against the High Court judgment. “The disappearance of our mother has sent my already sick young sister into depression and caused her to fall into a more serious condition requiring frequent hospital visits,” first born Abigail revealed on Tuesday. Speaking from Choma General Hospital where she had taken her sick sister, Abigail said the family has not seen their mother for a long time and now fear for the worst. Pheluna and her brother Milton have been missing after they appeared in a video denouncing their own court case in which they had sued Mr Hichilema over the acquisition of their farm.