CRIMINALS have shot dead a police officer manning Kalemse toll gate in Kasama.

CRIMINALS have shot dead a police officer manning Kalemse toll gate in Kasama.

The criminals also raped two women who were working at the tollgate.

The armed criminals are also believed to have raped two women toll collectors and went away with K38, 425 cash.

In a statement, Zambia Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga who confirmed the incident in a statement yesterday said that police had launched a man hunt in cases of murder, aggravated robbery and rape.

“The incident occurred between 02:00 hours and 04:00 hours at Kalense toll gate in Kasama in which a Police officer under the Protective Unit, Constable Wilson Lungu aged 28 was shot twice in the chest and left leg by the unknown criminals and died on the spot,” he said.

He said the officer that died was on duty with two female toll collectors, employees of National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) in Kasama when they were attacked by unknown armed criminals.

“Upon viewing the CCTV footage, the footage shows a criminal armed with a pistol, clad with a headsock and mask while holding a torch, who shot the officer twice in the chest and on his left leg in one of the rooms who sustained bullet wounds,” he said.

He said later the criminal grabbed an AK 47 rifle with 30 rounds of Ammunition and then threatened two female toll collectors to open the safe and stole K38, 425, cash money, a cell phone for the officer and two cell phones belonging to the toll collectors.

Mr Hamoonga said immediately after the act, the criminal abducted the two female toll collectors as he ordered them to take off the NFRA reflective jackets and took them in the nearby bush about 200 metres away from the toll gate where he raped them.

He said the body of the officer had been deposited in Kasama General Hospital Mortuary awaiting postmortem while the victims of rape were rushed to the Hospital for treatment.

Mr Hamoonga said the Zambia Police Service, would use all legal means to ensure that the culprits were brought to book.

He further appealed to the general public with any information that would ead to the successful apprehension and prosecution of the criminals behind this heinous crime to report to the nearest police station.