Mkaika MMD member of Parliament Peter Phiri says he was very disappointed by how some Sinda residents ignored his cry for help when he was involved in a road traffic accident, opting to steal his property instead.
In interview, Phiri, who was involved in an accident on January 15 as he was rushing to attend a funeral in Katete, wondered why some Zambians valued material things more than human life.
Phiri said he had bought 12 by 25 kgs breakfast bags of mealie meal from Lusaka at K154 per bag meant for the funeral and he had also withdrawn K10,000 cash which he was paid by Nelia company for ferrying fertilizer for from Katete to Sinda in collaboration with his Sinda counterpart Masauso Tembo.
“I had bought 12 by 25 kgs bags of breakfast mealie meal which I bought at this ka small at airport roundabout because I saw it was a bit fair because a 25 kg was going at K145 yet in Katete it was at K165 by then so I thought I could buy from there for the funeral. I had also K10,000 which I withdrew which this Nelia company paid us for ferrying their fertilizer from Katete to Sinda together with Sinda member of Parliament and the two of us we were using one account which is mine and Hon Tembo called me telling me that the company paid us and I had to go to the bank to check and mine was K12,000 but for Kazungula (Sinda MP’s nickname) was bigger so I don’t know what made me withdraw such an amount and I directed the bank in Katete to [send] Kazungula his and when the accident happened, the money and mealie were stolen,” he narrated.
He said he had put two bunches of money; K5,000 each, together with a gun and a wallet in a compartment between passenger seat and driver’s seat.
He said of those items, only the money and one of his two phones were stolen.
When asked what caused the accident, Phiri narrated that there was an oncoming vehicle which blinded him and he failed to see that a truck driver had partially blocked the road, causing him to hit into that vehicle.
“There was an oncoming vehicle which flashed me that I couldn’t see clearly, no road sign of any breakdown and this man had parked his truck which had a puncture and all the two right tyres where inside the yellow line. And as you know, the trailer extends a bit outside the tyres and I went to hit the conner of the trailer and the trailer further hit the roof of my car then I became unconscious and I was told I was shouting for help but no one came to my aid until a driver from Lusaka and a passenger came to my aid and took me to Sinda clinic. And when they went back to get my items, he only came with one phone, my gun and a wallet when I asked about money, he said they found nothing,” he said.
When asked about his condition, he said; “my second finger on my right hand is broken and two ribs on my right side are paining but I will be going back for a review at UTH on Saturday.”
He urged Zambians to be more empathetic rather than cease any opportunity to loot.
“My advice to the people is please let’s have a helping heart, let’s not value material things on the expense of someone’s life. Unfortunately, I don’t know where we are going as Zambians. I was alone in that accident. All I needed was someone to help me but surely, it had to take this man from Lusaka who came and if my car was a petrol one, I would have been burnt right away there as we saw someone got burnt there after his car caught fire after hitting into a truck. So I don’t know where we are going and as Zambians, we are Christians and we should practice Christian morals. Truthfully speaking my dear, I was very ,very disappointed,” said Phiri.
And district commissioner Paradious Sakala said its unfortunate that three members of parliament were involved in road accidents within a period of few months in Sinda district.
“It’s sad that we have recorded several road accidents in our district and this is a third member of parliament to be involved in an accident here in Sinda. First it was Chadiza MP, second Lundazi and now it’s Mkaika. We shall engage RDA to see what we can do but for now I can urge motorists to be cautious on the road to avoid future accidents,” said Sakala.
5 Responses
People have lost the ♥ heart of love.., even the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation was just imposed on the citizenry…
Yes most zambians are thieves including leaders. This christian national bullshit is another thieving scheme. We are not a christian national.
Sorry for the accident!
But, maybe people are very hungry because of the same policies the victim and his government have inflicted on the people of Zambia
You can take a cow to the water but you can’t make it drink.
You can declare a Christian Nation but you can’t make Christian citizens.
Wake up!
They say Bembas are thieves now Sinda is Bembaland kikiki…When we say people are hungry you don’t agree see now you’re even saying K165 and K145 per bag as if a common man can afford it.