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Zambia: Former UPND Security Chief Found With Case to Answer
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The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
7 May 2008
Posted to the web 7 May 2008
Ndola
FORMER United Party for National Development (UPND) Chairperson for Security Kelvin Ndila has been found with a case to answer for attempting to murder his ex-wife's friend.
This is in a case in which Ndila was accused of attempting to murder Magnet Freight Services managing director, Kennedy Hachintu on April 10, 2002 at Lusaka's Kamloops Lodge after he shot him in the mouth.
In his ruling, Justice Timothy Kabalata said he was satisfied that the State had established a prima facie case against Ndila to warrant putting him on his defence.
Ndila is scheduled to begin his defence on May 14.
Meanwhile, a Lusaka man accused of murdering his 14-year-old step daughter was yesterday found with a case to answer by the Lusaka High Court and has since put him on his defence.
This is in a case in which Fredson Sinyangwe, 61, is charged with murder contrary to section 200 of the Penal Code chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Particulars of the offence were that Sinyangwe allegedly murdered his step daughter, Esther Kunda on December 16, last year and later dumped her body in a nearby pit latrine.
High Court Judge, Eddie Sikazwe, in making his ruling said the prosecution team had established a prima facie against the accused from all the six witnesses that the State called.
Mother of the deceased girl, Virginia Kalunga testified that on the material day, she had left her husband and all her six children at home for a business trip and was shocked when her neighbours called to inform her that her daughter Esther had been killed.
She told the court that her daughter and her step father were not in good terms.
The step father had a tendency of scolding her over unnecessary issues and most of the times threatened to kill her.
Her neighbour, Chanda Kunda of John Laing Township testified that she was with the girl a night before she went to bed and complained that her step father scolded her during the day and did not want to spend the night in the same house with him.
She said the following morning, she heard people making noise and when she went outside, she found people saying they had seen a body in a pit latrine.
Another witness, a friend to the deceased, Mulenga Kabwe aged 15 told the court that Esther had asked her to escort her to the market when she suddenly felt dizzy and explained that she had been given eight tablets to drink by her step father.
"She was looking dizzy by the time we came back from the market and since it was becoming dark, I asked her to go and rest. The following day my other friends informed me that she had died," she said.
Defence will start on May 29 this year.
And the Supreme Court has imposed an 18-year sentence on a 72-year-old Mufulira carpenter for defiling two girls on the same day.
Charles Mwansa had appealed against the high court's sentence of 20 and 15 years imprisonment with hard labour for two counts of defilement.
In the first count, Mwansa was charged with defilement of a six-year old girl, while in the second count he was accused of defiling a 15-year old girl and further assaulting her on February 20 2006.
Mwansa in his appeal said the high court misdirected itself when it sentenced him to 20 and 15 years imprisonment with hard labour because as a first offender, the court should have been lenient.
In delivering judgement, Supreme Court Judge, Christopher Mushabati said the victims were far below the convict's age, which was in itself an aggravating factor.
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He said Mwansa did not deserve a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years and that the law had to be amended to protect such victims in society.
Mr Justice Mushabati however, said the appeal was allowed and that the court was of the view that the 20 year sentence was slightly on the higher side.
"The court will set aside the 20-year sentence and impose an 18 year sentence to run concurrently with the 15 year sentence," he said.
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| Copyright © 2008 The Times of Zambia. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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