‘Detaining Sgt Choongwa caused his death’

A POLICE officer charged with manslaughter of a Zambia Air Force (ZAF) flight sergeant Mark Choongwa who died in police custody in 2017, has told the Lusaka High Court that her decision to detain him caused his death.

This is in a case in which four police officers are charged with manslaughter.

The accused are acting woman Chief inspector Veronica Shawa, Mike Kapale, Lyton Mwale and James Ngulube. They are alleged to have brutally beaten Sgt Choongwa to death while he was detained at Woodlands police station in March 2018. When the matter came up for opening of defence before High Court judge Mwila Kombe, inspector Shawa told the Court that Sgt Choongwa was being unruly and refused to obey police orders after he allegedly committed a traffic offence. She added that Sgt Choongwa was in a drunken state at the time. Inspector Shawa said she charged Sgt Choongwa with offences of assault on a police officer and refusal to obey police orders.

And during cross examination, State lawyer Francis Sikazwe asked inspector Shawa to tell the court whether her decision to detain inspector Choongwa led to his death, she answered in the affirmative.

She however denied causing his death because according to her, she tried to save his life by taking him to UTH when she heard that he fell ill shortly after being thrown in the cell.

Ms Shawa refuted the evidence that the deceased was dragged and pushed into the cell and landed on his head. She then told the court that investigations into the death of Choongwa reviled that his fellow inmates allegedly beat him up.