3 in court for alleged murder of Dangote truck driver

THREE suspects have appeared in the Lusaka High Court for the gruesome murder of a Dangote Cement truck driver and the theft of 600 bags of cement. that police arrested the three male suspects namely John Chisha, Justine Simfukwe and Samson Simfukwe in Chinyunyu fishing camp, John Laing and charged them with the murder of Mpota and theft of 600 x 50 kg bags of cement. Earlier, the officer told the court that in the presence of other police officers, he was alerted about the suspected theft of goods in transit, who rushed to the place where the truck was said to have been abandoned. He said they found the vehicle parked in the middle of Kafue road with its lights and engine on, and playing very loud music but there was no sign of anybody around. Upon checking the exterior, they noticed some blood drops outside the passenger side of the vehicle which prompted him to open and check inside where he discovered the body of an African male lying face down with hands and legs tied. This is in a trial of the killing of a Dangote Cement Company truck driver, Stewart Mpota who was set to deliver 600 x 50 kilogramme bags of cement from Ndola to Petauke. According to detective sergeant Patron Kazhimoto, 42 of Chilanga Police Station, members of patrol team under Chilanga Police reported a suspected abandoned truck with registration number BCA 1421, with trailer number BCA 2353T in the middle of Kafue road between Chilanga and Kafue district with its lights and engine turned on around 1950 hours on the 30th December, 2016. Mr Kazhimoto told High Court Justice Gertrude Chawatama He explained that the hands were bound at the back, and a chitenge material tied across his mouth, and a t-shirt tied across his throat, and with deep cuts on the head. Police then went outside to get contacts from the company address on the truck and called Dangote offices where he was advised to wait for another vehicle on its way towards the scene according to their tracking system. Mr Kazhimoto further explained that the other Dangote truck arrived, driven by Maxon Lungu who identified the body as that of Mpota, and that investigations commenced into the happenings that led to the gruesome killing. Police have however recovered all the 600 bags of cement in relation to the theft, which has since been returned and handed over back to the owner, Dangote. Trial continues.