A Grade 10 pupil at a secondary school in Lusaka was raped by an unknown man who offered her a lift to take her to school. The victim, only rescued by concerned members of the public, was left with injuries and is receiving medical attention at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital.
The incident occurred on February 17, 2023, at around 12:00 hours in a car in Meanwood phase 3 area. Preliminary police investigations reveal that the girl left home in the Meanwood Phase 3 area around 09:00 hours for school, and on her way, a Toyota Vitz stopped, and the driver offered her a lift since it was raining.
The man changed direction and drove his car to an isolated place where he allegedly raped the girl after giving her some drinks suspected to be alcohol. Concerned members of the public approached the car after seeing it parked in an isolated place for a long time and found both the suspect and the victim in the car naked. They were both apprehended and handed over to the police.
The suspect was identified as George Banda, aged 31, of an unknown house number in Zingalume compound. He is said to be a taxi driver. Police officers who rushed to the scene recovered a Toyota Vitz bearing registration number BAV 7745 and a torn school uniform suspected to belong to the victim.
The victim sustained bleeding on her private parts, as well as general body pains. She was rushed to Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital for medical attention while Mr. Banda is detained in police custody waiting to be formally charged.
The police have called on members of the public to remain vigilant, especially when using public transportation, and to report any suspicious behavior or individuals to the police. The police also remind the public to avoid accepting lifts from strangers, and if they have to, to verify the identity of the driver and their car before accepting the ride.
The incident has sparked outrage on social media, with calls for justice for the victim and for stricter laws and regulations to protect young girls from sexual violence. The police have assured the public that they are doing everything in their power to ensure that justice is served in this case.
They criticised us for having security cadres around key strategic areas of the city. But what they didnt know is that the cadres we had provided additional security. Under upnd there is now lack of security. This taxi driver is a well known upnd member. I have personally received reports about him from taxi driver association members
That stupidity your cadres were doing you call it security seriously??? This was the level of thinking we had as leaders!! Now am 100% sure you guys will never bounce back
You don’t even vote. Fuseke.
Thank goodness they caught him. He will pay dearly for this. I hope he appears before a female magistrate. Now in a country really concerned about the safety of its schoolgirls one would expect lots of readers’ comments expressing outrage at this act and solidarity with the poor schoolgirl. Sara Longwe and Emily Sikazwe, keep the fire burning.
Sad act for sure. But I am left wondering why the young woman accepted a lift from a stranger. The story suggests that she was offered the lift and did not book it as a taxi from a taxi station.
The story is that it was raining and she was walking to school. So a ride in a tax was certainly at a premium. Nothing can justify wht this man did, otherwise it would be okay for all of us to rape women so long we are strangers to them.
Those of us that drive sometimes wonder at the behavior of most Zambian women. This girl had an option to refuse the offer of a lift. But Zambian women find it difficult to resist good cars. Rapists don’t just spring from nowhere. Advise your daughters or should I say your children to walk to school. It doesn’t make you a less human being if you accept your position in life. If we hear the other side of the story we’ll learn something . It’s a sad development
Security cadres where nothing but a bunch of criminals. Why did they not apprehend you Kaizar Zulu when under influence of alcohol caused an accident and started harassing the police officers and beating the other driver. Bonjour , Mr. advisor to President Lungu. You sound innocent. But you created chaos and anarchy.
Not sure why someone disliked my comment earlier. Don’t we teach our children to be wary of strangers? The reason we do this is because of acts such as this.
Surely, a 17 year old ought to be reasonable enough to refuse advances from men giving her lifts, she put herself in danger. I am not blaming her for what happened, I am, however, saying she could have avoided this by refusing that lift.
Am I wrong to offer advice to parents in this way?
The issue is a lack of security under this useless government. Under pf, that taxi driver wouldn’t be allowed to work in any part of the city.
Give that rapist 60 years behind bars to deter others from doing the same. And parents with daughters, please advise your daughters to NEVER accept rides from strangers. The schools should also announce this awareness to their students. If it was in America, this could’ve ended worse for the victim. Stay safe out there.
KZ will politicize even the act of Jesus Christ throwing out street vendors from a church in Lusaka.He probably done this rape himself just to spite the UPND govt.