The riot broke out without any warning. Everything appeared normal on the previous day which was a Sunday. Fr.Deltern from the White Father's mission in Luwingu conducted Sunday service and mass in the school hall as usual and the attendance was quite normal. In the afternoon, drum- beating started as early as 2 PM and the Kalela dancers started lining up immediately thereafter. By 5 PM the drum-beating was at its loudest and the dancing was in full swing. The dancers stood swaying and gyrating, one behind the other, with each one's hands on the sweating shoulders of the one in front, boys and girls intermingled, the line starting from the clearing near the boys' dormitories and snaking through the entire length of the foot-ball field. The sound of the drums was accompanied by shrill whistles, cat calls and what not. We had been watching this spectacle on every Sunday except during the school holidays, ever since we moved to the boarding school campus. It was quite a fascinating sight. The Kalela dance was the forum for all pupils to get involved in something interesting, irrespective of their age, sex or other characteristics.
During supper-time, Manachongo, the boarding master noticed a bit of restlessness among the senior boys. He knew the reason. The supply of meat that was scheduled to arrive from Kasama the previous day had not arrived due to reasons unknown to him. As a result there was no meat for the Sunday lunch. Formerly on such occasions, it was compensated at supper-time. As the supplier did not send any meat even by Sunday evening, no meat could be provided for supper as well. The boarders were greatly disappointed. It was rumoured that the C.E.O's office did not make the necessary payment and that was why the supplier did not send meat. Some of the senior pupils were even giving a hint to boycott the food but the majority of the boarders did not take it seriously. By Monday morning, everything appeared normal and the pupils had their breakfast as usual. At the beginning of lunch time some of the senior pupils went into the kitchen to find out whether there would be any meat for lunch. The cooks reminded them that the kitchen was out of bounds for the pupils and they would know whether there was any meat when the food was served. The boys were greatly annoyed and they stood at the entrance of the dining hall, asking each and everyone to boycott lunch as there was no meat. A number of juniors were intimidated from entering the dining hall that they went back hungry. As a result, a lot of nshima (cooked maize-meal) had to be thrown away.
As the boarding master knew what to expect at supper-time, the cooks were instructed to cook less food for supper. In the meanwhile the headmaster had been in touch with the C.E.O and was given assurance that his office would contact Shawn's butchery in Kasama and arrange with them to make an immediate delivery of beef.
Supper-time arrived and still there was no meat from Kasama. This time the girls also joined the boys in boycotting the supper. Some senior boys stood guard over the entrance of the dining hall so that the juniors may not sneak in. In addition, they procured a few tins of some detergent powder from the kitchen store and sprinkled it all over the cooked food so that no one would be tempted to eat the food even though hungry.
In the meanwhile the headmaster called an urgent meeting of the prefects (a selected body of senior pupils who were authorized to assist in maintaining law and order among the pupils) and explained to them the situation. He sought their help in restoring peace in the campus and they assured their support to the authorities. However, there was a strong feeling among the members of staff that some of the prefects themselves were involved in causing the agitation among the pupils.
There were two M'hangos among the prefects- Vivian and Bruce who were identical twins and were exactly alike in appearance. It was difficult to tell them apart but for the smile on Bruce's face and the scowl on Vivian's. We received an unconfirmed report that Vivian was one of the ring-leaders of the present unrest among the pupils which later proved untrue.
The situation became worse by Tuesday morning. All the boarders appeared for the breakfast, but no one seemed to be in a hurry to get back for the lessons after that. They were standing here and there in small groups and discussing matters. Even though the bell for the morning assembly was rung, no pupil took any notice of that.
In the meanwhile, the boarding master brought news that some pupils had started fighting in one or class rooms causing damage to the furniture and light fittings. The headmaster ordered Mukuka, the caretaker, to go round and lock up all the class rooms, laboratories and the generator shed.
By mid-morning while the pupils were still roaming about the school campus, about half a dozen senior pupils went to the headmaster as a delegation. They had a number of grievances written on a sheet of paper. It was not just the matter of having no meat for food, but there were other things also. They said that the boarders had taken a unanimous decision to boycott lessons until their grievances were redressed. The headmaster said he would look into the matter.
As there were no lessons going on, I decided to go to the main shopping area for a few purchases. I drove to Patel Syndicate, the shop where you could get most of your requirements and made my purchase. I chatted for a while with Mulenga, the manager, and returned to the school.
As I approached the school, I decided to drive on to my house and leave the car in my garage. I saw Bruce M'hango standing at the turn-off to the school and he waved at me to stop the car. He came to me and told that there was a bit of a problem. There was an open space beyond the school buildings, in between the girls' dormitories and the staff houses. All the pupils had gathered there, chanting some slogans and some of them were instigating the others to stone the staff-houses and cars. The headmaster, the boarding master and the boarding mistress were with the pupils, asking them to disperse, but no one was paying any attention. The headmaster had asked some of the prefects to inform all the expatriate teachers to stay away from the vicinity of the pupils' meeting place.
In order to reach my home, I had to drive round the corner of the place where the pupils were gathered. Somehow, I had a feeling that as I was popular with the pupils because of my science club activities, they would not hurt me. However, I forgot the fact that in situations like this, it was the mob-psychology that prevailed and their actions were not controlled by the head but by the heart. I thanked Bruce for the warning, but decided to keep going. I slowed down at the corner of the meeting place for a better look when I saw the boarding master coming towards me. I heard him telling me in a tone of urgency not to stop but to go home quickly. The situation was so tense that even the presence of a foreigner could provoke the pupils to behave in a totally uncontrollable manner. I hurriedly went home.
There were no further happenings on that day. By late afternoon the pupils became so tired and hungry that they dispersed one by one. Many of them were very disappointed that they could not go into a rampage. Later we came to know that it was Vivian M'hango whom we suspected of being one of the ring-leaders who prevented the pupils from going into a rampage. As he was very influential among the prefects as well as among the pupils, no one could act contrary to his strong stand against any attack on teachers' houses and property.
The meat truck from Kasama arrived in the evening and the pupils decided to call off the agitation. The incident had a happy ending by the headmaster making an announcement in the assembly next morning that all charges against the rioters were dropped.
We all heaved a sigh of relief as peace was restored to the campus once again.
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