A Judge heard yesterday former Zambia Air Force commander Ronald Shikapwasha asked his wife, Jane Lusengo, to make a confession.
A witness, who did not state what the confession was, said when she asked Lusengo, to tell her what had happened to the ex-military man who was in hospital at the time, Lusengo told her her husband asked her to confess.
Prisca Daka, 73, a former secretary at a church founded by the deceased, also narrated that Ms Lusengo told her that retired General Shakapwasha had moods.
This is in a case Ms Lusengo, 73, is accused of murdering Gen Shikapwasha, who died on January 15, 2024 at the hospital, after a shooting incident at his Ibex Hill house.
Lusengo denied the charge before High Court Judge Conceptor Zulu.
In her testimony, Ms Daka, a retired secretary, said in January 2024, she used to reside at Gen Shikapwasha’s Ibex house where the 76-year-old lived with Mrs Lusengo.
Ms Daka said she lived in the cottage at the annex of the General’s main house.
She said the deceased lived with his wife, daughters and grandchildren at the main house.
The witness said it was on January 14, 2024, when the the whole family left home and went to worship at Jesus is Life Church, in Shantumbu area.
She said at church, Gen Shikapwasha, who was also a reverend, shared a sermon titled ‘Recognizing Soul Fragmentation’ before the family got back home later in the day.
At home, Ms Daka went back to the cottage.
Later after 18:00 hours while waiting for the 19:00 hours prayers which the family always held at the main house, Gen Shikapwasha’s daughter Vanessa called her informing her to inform her that her father had been shot.
Vanessa told Ms Daka that she and Ms Lusengo were rushing to Maina Soko Hospital with the injured Gen Shikapwasha.
“I asked her how and by who [shot him] and she said ‘I do not know’. I asked her stand in the gap and start praying”.
The witness said the following morning, Vanessa came back home from the hospital followed by Ms Lusengo, who wanted to take a shower.
It was during this time that Ms Daka, who was in the main bedroom with the accused, asked Ms Lusengo what had earlier transpired.
“She told me ‘Mai Daka, you know your father, his moods, he told me if you are not going to confess….we won’t have our dinner together”.
Ms Daka said Ms Lusengo later gave her Gen Shikapwasha’s shirt and asked that she prays for it.
“Before I could start praying, Vanessa walked in, then I said it was good she had come. I asked her that we hold hands and pray over the shirt together”.
She said while she prayed, Ms Lusengo was pacing about in the room before the accused got a book from which she pulled out some pages.
It was later discovered that the pulled off pages were a Bill of Divorcement dated January 13, 2024, with Gen Shikapwasha’s signature.
There was also Deuteronomy 24:1 written on the document.
The scripture talks about how when a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and sends her from his house”.
The case will only resume April 7, 2025 for cross examination.
(Mwebantu, Friday, 28th February, 2025)