Minister fumes over threats against chief

NOEL IYOMBWA writes GOVERNMENT has defended a Chongwe traditional leader fighting gender based violence (GBV) and has urged police to arrest people hindering her work. This is after it emerged that the traditional leader was being threatened for exposing GBV cases and insisting that perpetrators are punished. “Police officers handling a case where a female traditional leader in Chongwe is being threatened for fighting GBV should arrest the perpetrators failure to which they risk losing their jobs,” Gender Minister Elizabeth Phiri said. Susan Mulimbika, who is Headwoman Chunga, is living in fear after some male subjects threatened her life for championing the fight against sexual and gender based violence. Speaking in an interview Ms Phiri said Government was working with traditional leaders in fighting gender based violence in chiefdoms and would not allow a situation where some individuals were threatening those in the forefront of fighting the vice. She called on police officers at Chalimbana police station to get to the bottom of the case or risk losing their jobs. The headwoman is in order to champion the fight against GBV. Ms Phiri warned all GBV perpetrators that the long arm of the law would catch up with them soon. She advised the traditional leader to follow up the case with the police. “My warning to the officers dealing with the matter is that they should pull up their socks. Let them do the right thing because the traditional leader is in order. As Government we are working with traditional leaders in this fight,” Ms Phiri said. Meanwhile, Zambia National Men’s Network for Gender and Development national coordinator Nelson Banda is concerned about death threats against the traditional leader. Mr Banda said the threats were coming from some of her male subjects who had been reported to the police for perpetrating GBV. He said Headwoman Chunga was leading the fight against early, child and forced marriages and other forms of GBV in Mwashinango Village. “Headwoman Chunga is one of the traditional leaders who were trained in sexual and reproductive health rights as a means of ending early, child and forced marriages by ZNMNGD and has been working to fight GBV by sensitising her subjects on the negative effects of these vices,” Mr Banda said. He said the traditional leader had been instrumental in reporting cases of violence to the police and contributing her personal money to help victims to get to the only nearest hospital and police station situated about 18 kilometers away.