Fri, 31 Mar 2017 12:21:09 +0000
By CHARLES MUSONDA
MYSTERY surrounds the whereabouts of four suspects accused of killing Zambia Air Force (ZAF) Flight Sergeant Mark Nchimunya Choongwa whilst in custody at Woodlands police station recently.
And a Somali woman charged with the murder of her husband by poisoning has been committed to the High Court for trial.
As the public eagerly awaits the quartet’s court appearance, following the police’s conclusion of investigation into the bizarre murder of Sergeant Choongwa, the suspects yesterday again failed to appear before the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court for the fourth consecutive day.
On Saturday, Zambia Police assistant public relations officer Nephas Chifuta issued a statement announcing that police had concluded investigations and arrested four detainees who allegedly killed Sgt. Choongwa in police custody.
“The said four inmates are Joseph Phiri aged 32 of Chalala area in Lusaka who was facing a charge of theft, Andrew Kaonga aged 31, a Police Sergeant of Kamfinsa Mobile Unit charged for criminal trespass, Felix Kalumba aged 40 of house number C294 Mtendere compound charged for motor vehicle theft, and Martin Chanda aged 24, of House number 45/11, Chilenje, facing a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The quartet will appear in court on Monday (March 27, 2017),” Mr. Chifuta said. When contacted by the Daily Nation on Tuesday this week after the suspects’ failure to appear in court, Mr. Chifuta referred all queries to the National Prosecutions Authority (NPA).
But yesterday even NPA prosecutors were equally in the dark as to the suspects’ whereabouts and status of their case.
The delay heightened doubts many people had expressed on the veracity of the assertion that Sgt. Choongwa was killed by the four suspects after he picked a quarrel with them in cells. Soon after news of Sgt. Choongwa’s death in police cells made rounds, a lot of questions were raised regarding the possibility of an inmate being beaten to death by fellow detainees without police officers on duty hearing sounds emanating from the beating.
In another case, a 23-year-old Somali woman alleged to have poisoned her husband after lacing his breakfast meal with a pesticide, has been committed to the High Court for trial.
Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate Kenneth Mulife yesterday committed Amina Mohammed to the High Court after receiving a certificate of committal from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
