Angry dad slams cops in ritual attack

POLICE must take my 13-year old son to court if there is anything wrong he did in exposing suspected ritualists who wanted to kill a man in Chipili than keeping him in cells for three weeks and away from school, the victim’s father has demanded.

But Luapula Province police commissioner Elias Chushi has told the Daily Nation to stay out of the case and allow the police to do its job, saying the reporter was just a civilian who did not know how the police operated.

Mr Henry Chikonde yesterday told the Daily Nation that his son was a victim of circumstances as he was a star witness in the case involving the attempted assassination of Mr James Mubanga, the man who almost lost his manhood when suspected ritual killers pounced on him in Chipili over a month ago.

Mr. Chikonde expl ained that his son, who is in Grade 7, was passing through the Kawambwa/Luwingu road junction in Munanga area on July 9, 2018 at the time that suspected ritualists attempted to kill Mr. Mubanga.

Mr Chikonde said when the boy tried to run away, the assailants stopped him and threatened that if he ever told anyone what he had seen, he would be the next person to die.

“They told my son that they would give him K50 the following day and that if he did not tell anyone, they would give him another K1, 0 after the whole story was swept under the carpet. They warned they would kill him if he did not accept their offer. When the Good Samaritan who saved Mr. Mubanga appeared on the scene, my son sei]ed tKe oSSortunity and Àed

“When he came home and expl ained what happened, we went to the Chief where he narrated his ordeal. The matter was then reported to the police and my son was on hand to give a statement and was told to go home. When police failed to arrest anyone, people rioted and it was at that time that they came to pick my son so that he could give another statement after suspects, including the reported mastermind, were detained,” Mr. Chikonde expl ained. Threatened to kill

He said his son was later moved from Chipili to Mansa police station together with the suspects and were locked up in the same cell where they intimidated him and threatened to kill him if he did not comply once they were outside the cells.

“The suspects only stayed for a few days and were bonded but my son remained in the cells. One of the suspects actually called me saying I needed to travel to Mansa because my son needed to give another statement and this came as a shock to me. On Saturday, I went to Mansa police station and I was told officers would record a new statement from my son.

“What has pained me most is the fact that my innocent son, who was almost falling prey to these criminals, is languishing in police cells for almost a month now without any charge, yet the suspects are free. He is in Grade 7 and did not write end of term exa ms. His friends are on tuition and preparing for exa ms while he is languishing in cells. Where is this country going?” he asked.

$sNed wKy Solice officers had kept the boy in cells for three weeks while suspects were released on bond without a charge, Mr. Chushi advised the Daily Nation to stay out of the matter.

“We are investigating this case and our responsibility is to take this matter to court and if fresh information comes up, are you telling me that we cannot go ahead as Zambia Police? To you, you are a civilian (while) we, as Solice officers, KaYe eYidence ourselves. For us to keep somebody in custody, we have evidence ourselves. Please give us enough space for us to investigate this (case) thoroughly,” Mr. Chushi said.