Sunday 26 October 2014

Lungu Declares National Mourning For Gwembe Disaster Victims

Vice President Dr. Guy Scott (above) and a survivor (below)
By Paul Shalala

Acting President Edgar Lungu has declared Wednesday 29th October 2014 as a day of national mourning in honour of the 26 people who died on Friday when a canoe carrying pupils and parents capsised on the Kariba dam.


The victims are all from Henga area of Gwembe District who were on their way to celebrate Zambia's Golden Jubilee.

In an interview this morning, Mr Lungu said he had conveyed a message of condolences to the families of the Henga Community in Gwembe District on behalf of President Michael Sata.

He has further directed the Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Rowland Msiska to organise an inter-denominational prayer service at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka to remember the departed souls.


"We will hold the prayer service at the Cathedral so that we can remember the departed souls. This is a huge loss for the nation," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Lungu says 17 bodies have so far been retrieved from Lake Kariba and he hopes more bodies will be found in the course of the day.

He has also revealed that either him or Vice President Dr. Guy Scott will attend the burial of the deceased in Gwembe on Wednesday.

No comments:

Post a Comment