Chitimukulu visits Chitotela, Chilangwa

By NATION REPORTER

NORTHERN Province senior traditional leaders led by Paramount Chief Chtimukula yesterday visited jailed Nickson Chilangwa and Ronald Chitotela at Mukobeko Maximum Prison in a show of solidarity and encouraged the duo never to lose hope.
Paramount Chief Chitimukulu of the Bemba people in the company of senior Bemba Chiefs, including Chief Chikwanda and Chief Luchembe yesterday visited the two law makers who are serving jail for arson and damage to public property.
The visit preceded several attempts by the traditional leaders to seek government approval and their interaction with the two former ministers was tightly monitored by state agents.
The Chitimukulu gave Chilangwa and Chitotela a message of hope stating: “We have not stopped praying for you. We trust that, in His time, God will answer our prayers and deliver you from this.”
The atmosphere inside the prison was charged with emotion as Chilangwa and Chitotela, both visibly affected by their torment, shared their painful experiences with their chiefs.
The two former ministers spoke openly about the cruel conditions they had endured since their incarceration, informing the Chitimukulu that they had been subjected to untold physical and emotional misery.
Mr Chitotela and Mr Chilangwa complained to the senior Bemba Chief of being subjected to physical and emotional abuse -humiliated, mocked, and stripped of their dignity by prison officers.
Chitotela and Chilangwa lamented that despite their innocence, they had been treated as criminals.
Sources close to the meeting revealed that both men were deeply anguished over the brutality they faced daily.
“I am an innocent man suffering for no reason,” Chilangwa told the Chitimukulu.