Mwila blamed the riots on false allegations that a suspected ritual killer of foreign nationality had been released from police custody.
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A Reuters witness saw the rioters breaking into and loot a shop belonging to a Rwandan trader in a crowded township east of Lusaka.
The rioting residents have threatened to take their protests to State House, alleging that they were living in fear.
“Elements in Lusaka with criminal intent took advantage of the pain and grief we all felt over the suspected ritual killings”, Mwila said in a television address on Monday evening.
Ritual killings are also rare in in the southern African nation, she says.
Zambian authorities arrested more than 200 people for rioting and ransacking Rwandan-owned shops in Lusaka over allegations that foreigners were behind a string of ritual killings, a minister said on Tuesday.
They number about 6,000, and many of them came to Zambia as refugees fleeing the 1994 genocide in their home country. “When the root causes of this week’s violence are examined, it will suggest that the attacks on foreigners were more likely prompted by the fact they were easy targets and the victims more of frustration and desperation than xenophobia”.
Zambia hosts thousands of refugees from neighbouring countries, especially Rwanda and Burundi, but relations between the communities are usually peaceful. Some Zambian youth attacked foreigners and their shops following rumors that the shop owners had been engaging in ritual murders, which enabled their businesses to flourish.
Malawians are among foreigners forced to seek refuge at various police stations in Lusaka following attacks on foreigners in Zambia.
Police say more officers have been deployed to the affected areas to ensure security.
So far 257 suspected looters have been apprehended and police have recovered some of the looted property.
Zambian President Edgar Lungu said Thursday he was ashamed by violence that erupted this week targeting foreign nationals, urging those affected to return to their homes.
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The attacks that started on Monday in one of Lusaka’s densely populated townships – Zingalume – spread to Ngombe, Kanyama, Chawama, Kalikiliki, Chunga, George and Matero townships.
