Court warns Kabwe street vendors

By NATION REPORTER THE Kabwe Magistrate Court has warned vendors not to resume trading on the streets to avoid littering the town centre again.

Kabwe Magistrate Sebastian Mwenya says dirtying the town again will increase chances of another cholera outbreak, which killed a lot of people last year and early this year.

Mr. Mwenya said this yesterday when he convicted a juvenile who pleaded guilty to one count of displaying goods in a street or business premises without council approval, contrary to Section 84 of the Local Government Act Chapter 281 as read with Regulation 44 of Statutory Instrument number 10 of 2018 of the Laws of Zambia.

Facts before court were that on July 11, 2018, a council police officer found (lvis Lungu selling plastic bags near Kasengo Butchery, after which he apprehended and took him to Kabwe Central police station where he was arrested.

In mitigation, Lungu said his mother died when he was young and that his father had difficulties in walNing. +e said he was selling the plastic bags because he was the sole breadwinner in the family.

Asked by the court as to why he was not trading at Katondo township market, near his residence, Lungu said he was doing his trade at the new market in town centre and that he was only found near the butchery because he wanted to buy food for the family after knocking off. But Magistrate Mwenya observed that the convict had started cheating.

Lungu further told the court that he knew that the State banned street vending to rid town centres of dirt.

Mr. Mwenya then warned Lungu that his conduct attracted severe punishment to deter would-be offenders.

“The offence you committed reTuires you to pay a fine of K1, 500 and if you fail to pay you will go to prison for two months. It is up to you to pay the K1, 500 or go to prison for two months,” he said. In the same court, an 18 year old fisherman stunned the court when he said that only his grandmother knew his date of birth and that he looked after himself yet his mother was present in the gallery.

In this case, Maxwell Mponda, of Nakoli compound in Kabwe, admitted illegally selling chili pies without approval from the Kabwe Municipal Council. The case was adjourned to tomorrow for written statement of facts.