CHITIMUKULU LEADS BEMBA CHIEFS IN VISITING CHILANGWA, CHITOTELA AT MUKOBEKO
Paramount Chief Chitimukulu of the Bemba people in the company of senior Bemba Chiefs Chikwanda and Luchembe Wednesday took a somber and emotional visit to Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe to see former Luapula Minister Nickson Chilangwa and his fellow convicted counterpart, Ronald Chitotela.
The visit, which had been preceded by several attempts to seek government approval, showed a powerful moment of solidarity for the two unfairly imprisoned leaders.
The traditional chiefs entered the prison gates with their faces down and in solemn silence.
Their hearts were heavy with both concern and prayer for their people, even in the face of their imprisonment.
At around 10:00 hours, the chiefs were escorted through the prison and led directly to the cells of Chilangwa and Chitotela, where they shared a cordial and tightly monitored meeting.
According to sources prison authorities, police officers, and intelligence personnel kept a watchful eye, strictly controlling the timing and flow of the visit.
Chitimukulu addressed the two men with a message of faith and told them, “We have not stopped praying for you. We trust that, in His time, God will answer our prayers and deliver you from this.” These words carried the deep sadness of a father figure watching over his children in their darkest hour.
The atmosphere inside the prison was charged with raw emotion as Chilangwa and Chitotela, both visibly affected by their ordeal, shared their painful experiences with their chief.
The two former ministers spoke openly about the cruel conditions they had endured since their incarceration.
They described being subjected to physical and emotional abuse—humiliated, mocked, and stripped of their dignity by prison officers.
They lamented that despite their innocence, they had been treated as criminals.
Sources close to the meeting revealed that both men expressed their deep anguish over the brutality they faced daily. Chilangwa, his voice tinged with sorrow spoke of how he had continued to pray not only for his own freedom but also for those he believed were persecuting him.
“I am an innocent man suffering for no reason,” he confided to the Chitimukulu, his words filled with both grief and faith.
The Chitimukulu, visibly moved, shared in their pain, especially that the treatment of his “children” had been nothing short of unjust. The Chief seeing his people—men of honour and now subjected to such inhumane conditions was clearly unbearable for the revered chief.
As the visit drew to a close, the Bemba chiefs offered their support to Chilangwa and Chitotela.
CHITIMUKULU LEADS BEMBA CHIEFS IN VISITING CHILANGWA, CHITOTELA AT MUKOBEKO
