Seven murder suspects acquitted
By Staff Reporter
Seven murder suspects were last week acquitted of the offence due to lack of adequate evidence by the prosecution.
And Lusaka High Court judge William Mweemba has committed two men of Senanga to death by hanging for murdering Mwiya Kakungu of the same district in April in 2015.
Mukangwa Mukangwa together with six others were arrested on July 9, 2016 in Mongu for allegedly murdering Likando Liwanga following multiple injuries on the back of his believed to have been occasioned by the accused.
Details of the matter are that Liwanga had joined the accused on a drinking spree and was later heard yelling insults, which evidence was not adequate for the prosecution to find the accused liable.
The accused opted to remain silent during the trial of the matter and the court evoked section 181 chapter 88 of the laws of Zambia which reduced the charge to manslaughter according to the criminal procedure code.
A postmortem conducted failed to establish the cause of Liwanga’s death thereby rendering the findings non circumstantial.
And Judge Mweemba sentenced Nalishebo Muyambango and Mulumemui Wamulume while the state entered a Nolle Prosequi in favour of the third accused Mwangala Mukela in the murder of Kakungu contrary to section 200 penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia. Mukela died shortly after taking plea in the murder case.
Facts before the court were that on April 29, 2015 the trio jointly and whilst acting together did murder Mwiya Kakungu, a key witness in a land dispute between Mukela Mwangala and Irene Mubuyaeta.
Mukela lost a land dispute matter in two traditional courts against Irene Mubuyaeta in which Kakungu was a key witness. The two rulings did not sit well with Mukela who decided to hire a sniper, Muyambango to kill the deceased using a gun while Wamulume led the former to where the deceased was heading his cattle and eventually killed.
An advance payment for K700 was made to Muyambango in Lui Namabunga in Senanga for his services and following the completion of the assignments a further and final payment of K1,500 was made.
Nine pallets were removed from the body of Kakungu.
Police Detective Inspector Matilda Busiku a baristic expert testified that an assault rifle, serial number 4554, a property of Mukela was used to kill Kakungu.
After careful consideration of the submissions made by the prosecution and the defense, the court found the two guilty of the offence contrary to section 200 of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia and were to hang until pronounced dead by a medical practitioner through the issuance of death certificate.
