Tue, 20 Dec 2016 12:54:31 +0000
By Chikumbi Katebe
A LUSAKA wife has been sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of her husband.
High Court Justice Anessie Banda-Bobo has convicted Esther Kangwa Rozaria Mupinde Lungu for the murder of her husband, Owen Lungu, and has sentenced her to death by hanging.
Ms Justice Banda-Bobo said there was overwhelming evidence to prove the woman engaged in domestic violence and the use of objects in their 18-year-old marriage.
She said there was evidence from witness statements that on the night of the murder, Esther was angry with her husband and therefore had motive, and that there was overwhelming and compelling evidence against the accused with adequate time, motive and opportunity without doubt.
“She formed an intention, if not to kill, to cause grievous harm or she knew that what she was doing would likely cause death or grievous harm.
“On this night, she was angry and therefore had motive,” the judge said.
She explained that the evidence before her proved the case against Esther for the murder of Lungu, who was out with friends and was said to have been in good health at the time he was dropped off at home.
The judge explained that Esther’s defense that she had fallen into a deep sleep after doing some chores did not correspond with the evidence before court that her husband had a cut on the back of his head which resulted in his death.
Justice Banda-Bobo said Esther failed to explain how Lungu ended up in the bathtub, in the position he was found, and without any blood on him or his clothes when she said he had fallen and hit his head.
The judge said there was no evidence to justify claims that Esther had been busy with her laundry, and that she also had to soak her white trousers before finally going to sleep only to be awoken by a sound of something falling.
“My reasoning is this that it is possible that after she hit him he bled on her white pair of trousers. That is why she mentioned what she had been wearing before and only says the trousers became dirty,” said Justice Banda-Bobo.
Witnesses told the court in trial that on that fateful day, Lungu had been out with his friends and only returned home between 20:00 hours and 21: 00 hours, and that his wife could have tried to resuscitate him after the fight and that she arranged his body in the bathtub and poured water on him.
There was no immediate postmortem before burial, but instead there was exhumation that proved the injury on the back of the deceased’s head.
The judge said the prosecution evidence was overwhelming, cogent and compelling and that there can be no other rational notion than that the accused murdered the deceased.
