TWO FORMER SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS TESTIFY IN MUMBI PHIRI, SHEBBY CHILEKWA MURDER CASE
By New Dawn Reporter
TWO former senior police officers have told the Mongu High Court that only one gun belonging to UPND cadre, Chola Simwaba a former Zambia Army officer was retrieved from the 6th October, 2019 Kaoma shooting.
The two former police officers are Deputy Director Criminal Investigations Department, Simon Tembo and Director Criminal Investigations at Police Headquarters Michael Nsofwa.
Tembo who was senior assistant commissioner of police said he was sent to Kaoma by his supervisor to follow up the murder case of Lawrence Banda because the matter was not moving.
He explained to Court that he was also directed to constitute a team of officers from various departments with different expertise to be part of the travelling team to Kaoma to investigate the matter.
Tembo said when he arrived he went through the dockets and found that there were two dockets one for attempted murder whose suspect was a Chola (Simwaba) and the other one of murder of Lawrence Banda whose suspects were unknown people.
He explained that he was also briefed that the dealing officer in the matter who was DCIO of Kaoma Donald Mulimba had difficulties to get a report from a senior police officer in Mongu, identified as Chipasha, which led to the delay in the conclusion of investigations.
Tembo informed Court that when he traveled to Kaoma with his newly constituted team, he went to both scenes for reconstruction where he noted that the shooting was a continuous process.
When asked by Defence lawyer Jonas Zimba what he meant, Tembo said it was clear from the scenes that the same people who were found at the first scene were the same people at the second scene.
He also told Court that the same people who were at the first scene were the same people that apprehended Chola Simwaba and recovered a gun and cartridges.
Tembo said there was no any other second gun recovered from the Kaoma’s Site and Service killing of Lawrence Banda.
And former Director Criminal Investigations Micheal Nsofwa explained that the investigation were not properly done as they were rushed.
Nsofwa said he sent a different team to investigate the matter because officers in Mongu and Kaoma had challenges.
He said the docket for murder had unknown suspects, while for attempted murder the suspect who had already been apprehended by members of the public was a Chola.
Nsofwa said however, police was investigating (Francis) Muchemwa as he was the one being mentioned.
He said the Kaoma murder was engulfed in politics and alot of political commentaries were made on various social media platforms.
Nsofwa said when the video where former PF deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri appeared on social media, stating that she saw what happened went viral, he instructed his officers led by Uyoya Simuzi to investigate the matter.
He said what disappointed him was the failure by the officers to bring in Phiri by giving an explanation that she was just politicking after they had an inquiry with her.
“My lord I was very disappointed when I sent my officers to Madam Mumbi, when they came Uyoya told me that after talking to her, she told them that she was just politicking, it was just politics. My lord if I were given an opportunity, I could have made her account for that statement,” he said.
When asked to state what he meant by that, Nsofwa said Mumbi Phiri should have been a state witness in the matter as investigations were ongoing towards Muchemwa.
So far six witness have testified.
This is in a matter in which Phiri and Chilekwa are facing one count of murder of UPND cadre Lawrence Banda in Kaoma on 6th October 2019, during the Kaoma Council Chairperson by-election.
(Former Director Criminal Investigations at Police Headquarters Michael Nsofwa at Mongu High Court yesterday. Picture by the New Dawn Newspaper)