Mother attempted to shield runaway driver - cop

A POLICE officer has testified that the mother of a student, who caused an accident in which a teacher lost his leg, attempted to shield her son from prosecution. Chief Inspector Gift Malawo told Lusaka Magistrate Austin Mubita yesterday that Mirphine Tembo’s mother told the police that her son was not the one who was driving his Toyota Corolla when it was involved in the road accident with a Nissan Caravan minibus registration number BAG 8202; in which the victim Paul Njovu was injured. Mr. Malawo was testifying in the case in which Tembo, 22, of house number 39 Emmasdale Police Camp, has been charged for dangerous driving, failure to report an accident, failure to render assistance to the injured, and unlicensed driving. He said on February 19, 2018 he was allocated the case and after reading the docket, it revealed that there was a casualty admitted to University Teaching Hospital (UTH). Mr. Malawo said a further study of the case also showed that Tembo was claiming ownership of the Toyota Corolla registration number AJB 4293 after which he was detained for dangerous driving. He said before his detention, Tembo had already been identified by the Nissan Caravan driver Leonard Kapasula. “On 20th February 2018 I picked female Constable Amusa Mutalepula and Mirphine Tembo to go and revisit the accident scene. He was the one who was driving the Toyota Corolla but he claimed that he was in Chalala attending the funeral of his cousin. “We went back to Emmasdale Police station where I recorded a warn and caution statement from him but he denied the charges. He gave us a name of an individual who he said was driving the car. We told him to avail that person and we gave him enough time but he failed. Thereafter I made up my mind to charge him…” Mr. Malawo said. Mr. Malawo said at that time he was based at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Police station but the case was allocated to him because the complainant’s family was not comfortable with Emmasdale police officers handling the matter because Tembo’s mother is a resident of Emmasdale Police Camp. The case has been adjourned to November 27, 2018 for continued.

A further study of the case also showed that Tembo was claiming ownership of the Toyota Corolla registration number AJB 4293 after which he was detained for dangerous driving.