Senseless tragedy

Around 9:30 this morning, a large and noisy crowd began to assemble on the street in front of the police station. Naturally, work ground to a halt and everyone went out to see what was going on.

Some of the mob started vandalizing the large stone planter in the centre of the town's one (pretty) roundabout intersection. From my vantage point, I could see that they were taking portions of the stone wall to blockade the road.

After a while, people started running away from the scene as the police began shooting canisters of tear gas into the street. My very open office is not more than 100 metres from the scene. I didn't even have to get out of my seat to see and hear what was going on. Or to feel the mild effects of the tear gas on my eyes, nose and tongue. I would not want a full dose of that stuff...

Police considering their next moves.

Once people fled the original scene, the street became rather deserted. However, the rioters obviously moved off in other directions, as there were still many shots (of just tear gas, I hope) in the distance.

So, what prompted all this?

It's no secret that there was a Manchester United vs. Chelsea football game on last night in the UK. It's also no secret that Zambians are crazy about football. Although the rest is third-hand information, here is what I understand of the situation.

There was a bar in one of the compounds where the football game was being shown on TV. There was a crowd of people at the bar, watching the game. Since the rules prohibit bars from opening past 21:00 on weeknights, there might have been a noise complaint from a neighbour. The police came and decided to fire tear gas into the bar.  Three people died as a result of the scuffle - early reports said they suffocated due to the gas, but more recent reports say they died in the stampede to get out of the bar.

This morning, the people came to protest the deaths outside the police station. Apparently nobody came out to address them, so they started throwing stones and causing (minor) havoc. The police then sent out their people with more tear gas, Plexiglas shields and guns and essentially the town has been shut down as the forces mobilized to suppress the protesters. To make things worse, I am told that the tear gas suffocated a baby.

It's not the first time that a sporting event has led to havoc and deaths, nor unfortunately do I think this will be the last.