Bandits terrorise Mitengo residents

MUYANI SHINJABALE writes HOUSE-BREAKING and theft cases have sharply risen in Mitengo and Hillcrest residential areas in Ndola, raising complaints among residents. Four days ago, thieves broke into Franciscan Convent School in Mitengo and got away with computers from the laboratory while many other households have been broken into by thieves targeting electronic goods and […]

Bandits terrorise Mitengo residents
MUYANI SHINJABALE writes HOUSE-BREAKING and theft cases have sharply risen in Mitengo and Hillcrest residential areas in Ndola, raising complaints among residents. Four days ago, thieves broke into Franciscan Convent School in Mitengo and got away with computers from the laboratory while many other households have been broken into by thieves targeting electronic goods and livestock. Information reaching the Daily Nation showed that during the week, thieves scaled over a boundary wall at a residence in Mitengo where they village slaughtered chickens but abandoned them. They also abandoned a 50 kilogramme bag of oranges which they plucked from the orchard after residents raised alarm. On Monday, thieves attempted to break into another house, but abandoned the mission and a machete after they realised that the owner had woken up. Within the course of this week, thieves stole from a Zesco transformer, which had suffered a similar theft two weeks earlier. Many other households had suffered theft of water pumps and cables from the boreholes in the dead of the night in the MItengo ad Hillcrest residential areas. Reports have been lodged with Chifubu police station In an interview, Martha Chewe a resident of Mitengo expressed concern over the increase of crime, stating that the area was no longer safe for the residents. Ms Chewe stated that people were losing investments such as chickens and properties from thefts And Karen Semba a house wife in the area feared for the safety of her household as her husband worked long hours and would be away for a long time. Ms Semba called on the police to intensify patrols in the area or find a way in which crime could be curbed. Another resident, Derick Chanda, emphasised the need to enhance security in the area especially that it was located far from other townships and was relatively new Most residents suspect that perpetrators of crime in Mitengo and Hillcrest areas were caretakers employed to guard houses under construction. They appealed to people who were constructing houses to thoroughly screen the [people they employed as caretakers as some of them were perpetrating crime in the usually serene residential area. The most affected area of Mitengo is near the new Tropical Disease Research Centre complex which was near the Mufulia-Ndola road. In a separate interview, Copperbelt of Police Charity Katanga advised the residents to engage officer in charge at Chifubu police station, a step they had already exhausted. Ms Katanga said it was the responsibility of the community to engage the local stations whenever they experienced such challenges in the same way they approached media organisations to air their grievances. The Sun