“Where is Your Brother Abel?” The Case of Mutotwe Kafwaya

Secondly, Mr. Kangwa said the operation was based on information that the premises the state was raiding had suspects planning to destabilize the peace and stability of the country.

This meant that the officers dispatched had to bear arms with the highest possible calibre of weapons, possibly the military-type. Shot at using this kind of weaponry, and at close range, chances of survival are extremely narrow.

I think it was with this scenario in mind that Mrs. Kafwaya asked the state to come clean – is he dead or not? This way, the family may proceed with either a funeral or nurse him hopefully to recovery.

But the question worth of meditation is why the Secretary to Cabinet didn’t mention Mutotwe Kafwaya and yet Mundubile not only did he mention him but categorically stated that he had been shot – not once but twice?

Mostly likely, it was to use the principle in communication called plausible deniability – distance the state from the shooting. The state can claim it didn’t see Kafwaya so, it wouldn’t account for his whereabouts. It would say, “Ask Mundubile who mentioned him. None of the officers who went there saw him”.

Remember also that the Secretary to Cabinet said the officers were shot at first and an exchange of fire ensued. In the process, some people fled. This narrative contradicts that of Mundubile but it was carefully designed to lead to another statement from the state at a later stage, namely, Kafwaya died during the exchange of fire in the event that he ‘turns up’ dead.

I reckon this development is very inconveniencing for the ruling party leadership who would rather be celebrating their victory. They may even become clumsy and desperate to silence the narrative, in the process committing more heinous acts.