Mutinta narrates ordeal: ‘Govt wants to kill my husband’

April 11, 2017 | Filed under: Breaking News,Politics | Posted by: News Desk

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Mutinta Hichilema has charged that the state is after the life of her husband, the UPND leader Hakainde.

Narrating the Hichilema family’s terrifying ordeal that followed the night time raid and siege on their home by state police Monday night, Mutinta also wondered why police could not summon Hichilema to their offices like has been the case in the past.

She revealed that she repeatedly stopped her husband from giving himself up, fearing that the police may kill him.

“All these years, Hakainde has remained a law-abiding citizen when he is called by the police, he is always there but I don’t know what went wrong this time around that they should come at 22:00 hours to 23:00 hours. I resisted that he doesn’t come out because I didn’t know where they wanted to take him. I said there is no witness here apart from the police; they are going to kill you where they will take you,” Mutinta narrated.

The visibly emotional Mutinta told journalists that police mercilessly tortured the workers in a bid to force them to reveal the whereabouts of Hichilema and his family who had sought refuge in a safe room. She explained that one of the workers eventually caved and gave up their hiding place.

“The boy they brought to our room was crying uncontrollably and I don’t know whether they were touching his private parts; he cried! They started throwing tear gas in the room where we were. I’m asthmatic and so, I fainted twice and our last born was also there. I don’t know where we are going with this government [because] there is no Zambia any more, I’m telling you. I think women are more stronger than men and we have to fight this brutal government. Let’s all come together and fight, otherwise we’ll have no country called Zambia.”

She further wondered why Hichilema was rushed to Lilayi.

“When they took my husband here, they said they were taking him to Woodlands but they have now taken him to Lilayi. I have never heard of any political detainee who is taken to Lilayi!” Mutinta said.

She also took some journalists to more than 15 rooms of the house where police caused extensive damage to glass doors, ceiling boards and other electrical appliances.

Carpets in all the rooms were turned upside down and beds re-arranged while all the rooms were marred with teargas thrown on Monday night.

The officers, usually kept hungry, also broke into the kitchen, whose doors they brought down and they emptied the fridge of all kinds of fruits in it.