Kids flock back to Kitwe streets

SANFROSSA MANYINDA writes THE return of street kids to the Central Business District (CBD) in Kitwe, barely a month after they were removed, has irked residents. During a night operation, officials from the Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development, the Zambia Police as well as the local authority last month captured and removed all street children from the CBD in Kitwe. The street kids were taken to different designated children’s homes within the city, but started fleeing one by one. A survey by the Daily Nation showed that a number of children were slowly getting back to the streets, begging while sniffing jenkem, a highly-intoxicating and fermented faecal matter. Some residents blamed the local authority for leaving out the elderly who were shielding the children and lied that they were together when in fact not. “You see, the elderly remained on the streets when the young ones were taken away and this is an advantage for them to get back. They say that they were with their elderly parents which is not true at all,” Amon Mumba told the Daily Nation. Mr Mumba said that there was need for Zambia Police as well as council police to continue patrolling the streets and ensure that no other child came to the streets. Another resident, Memory Mwansa, called on security wings not to be soft on the kids, if the situation was to be controlled. But Kitwe City Council (KCC) Town Clerk Mbulo Seke said that the council was not aware that the children were back on the streets but assured that officers would be sent on the ground to ensure that the streets were free of homeless children. The Sun