Ritual victim’s family outraged

…over police plans to charge suspects with aggravated battery

THERE is outrage after police in Luapula Province want to charge the suspects in the ritual attacks on a 30 year old man of Chief Mwenda’s area in Mwense whose manhood was almost chopped off with aggravated battery when they had attempted to murder him.

Luapula Province police commissioner, Elias Chushi had earlier told the Daily Nation that the suspects would be charged with unlawful wounding or attempted murder.

The victim’s family has however cried foul that the police would contemplate charging the suspects with unlawful wounding when it was clear the man was almost killed.

They wondered how attacks, leading to someone almost losing his manhood would only amount to unlawful wounding.

“It is clear that those people wanted to kill our relative. The state in which our relative was found is very clear that they wanted to kill him and probably get his manhood. How can it only be unlawful wounding when the manhood was almost chopped off,” a relative asked.

The family also said that the victim’s, James Mubanga had now suffered a partial stroke because of the attack.

They called on authorities to immediately look into the matter and ensure that correct decisions were made.

Efforts to get a comment from Mr Chushi yesterday proved futile as he only promised to get back but did not do so and eventually stopped picking up calls.

Mr Mubanga had earlier complained that police officers were not arresting the suspects despite knowing them.

The expose’ prompted Mr Chushi to go and look for Mr Mubanga, after learning of his officers’ alleged incompetence and managed to follow up the matter until the suspects were nabbed.

Narrating his ordeal, Mr Mubanga said that on July 9, 2018 as he was returning home from his errands, three people believed to have been trailing him accosted him at the junction of the Luwingu- Kawambwa Road in Mubanga area and descended on him.

He explained that the trio hit him with bricks on the head before dragging him into the drainage where they started cutting his manhood but that he was only saved by a Good Samaritan who appeared on the scene and repelled them.