POLICE HUNT GANG OF 15 AFTER STELIOS SARDANIS, 64, MURDERED IN BED
…Chaminuka Resort tycoon beaten to death and robbed of bedroom safe in savage midnight raid
By DAVID KANDUZA
THE Zambia Police Service has launched a massive manhunt for an armed gang of up to 15 assailants.
The suspects brutally murdered Chaminuka Resort chief executive officer Stelios Sardanis, 64, during a violent home invasion early Sunday morning of August 9, 2026.
The early morning assault shattered the peace of the prominent 10,000-acre luxury wildlife sanctuary.
Police spokesperson Godfrey Chilabi confirmed that a heavily armed gang smashed through the main glass door of the luxury estate between 01:00 and 01:15 AM.
The attackers charged directly to the bedroom where Mr Sardanis was resting.
Mr Chilabi said the gang heavily assaulted the resort boss with unidentified offensive weapons before ripping out a locked safe.
The stolen safe contained crucial legal documents, expensive family valuables and an undisclosed amount of hard cash.
Panicked lodge workers rushed the bleeding tycoon to the CFB Medical Centre in Lusaka.
Doctors tragically pronounced him dead upon arrival.
The Police elite forensic units had processed the bloody crime scene and formally detained the resort security guard on duty for intense interrogation to assist with ongoing investigations.
Mr Sardanis was the proud steward of Chaminuka and son of Andrew Sardanis, the iconic independence-era economic figure.
The Sardanis and Chaminuka family who confirmed his death in a released statement said the families would soon announce the burial details.
The Police urged anyone with information to call the toll-free police emergency lines at 9010 or 9011.