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Zambia: Cop, 2 Others to Hang
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The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
25 March 2008
Posted to the web 25 March 2008
Ndola
THE Lusaka High Court has sentenced a police officer and two others to death by hanging for robbing a supermarket of goods worth K14 million.
Two men who were jointly charged with the trio were, however, acquitted because of lack of evidence connecting them to the case.
High Court Judge, Tamula Kakusa, sent Henry Kabukali, 39, a police officer at Lilayi paramilitary, Duke Phiri, 36, a conductor and Steven Polesi, 43, a businessman, to death after convicting them of aggravated robbery.
The trio was jointly charged with Decent Milimo, 28, a businessman, and Masiye Mtonga, 36, a cashier, after they robbed Naiks Supermarket in Lusaka on May 20, 2003.
Milimo and Mtonga were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
They were all accused of stealing three cell phones, a wallet containing foreign currency and other items all valued at K14,975,000 from Pritesh Naik.
Evidence before the court was that on the particular day after 18:00 hours, a number of men, one of them dressed in a police uniform and carrying a firearm entered Naiks Supermarket.
The group, which forced everyone in the shop to lie down, threatened to kill anyone that resisted and later tied them and started parking goods.
The court heard that police officers in their course of investigations recovered goods suspected to have been stolen during the robbery in question.
Among the goods recovered from Kabukali's home was a cell phone, K715,180, an AK-47 rifle, two magazines and 34 rounds of ammunition.
Scratch cards, K479,000 cash and another cell phone were recovered from Polesi while another cell phone, also suspected to have been stolen, was recovered from Phiri.
In delivering judgment, Mr Justice Kakusa said the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and, therefore, he was convicting the trio because there was sufficient evidence against them.
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"It is my view that from the facts on record, I am satisfied and proved that the three robbers were armed during the commission of the offence and I thereby sentence you to death to be hanged by the neck until pronounced dead," he said.
The court further noted that the AK-47 rifle used in the robbery remained unaccounted for after it was last issued in 1997 to an officer who later retired.
Mr Justice Kakusa said that it was evident that in respect of the rifle there was incompetence in record keeping and that anybody could have had the firearm.
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