IRATE taxi drivers in Kitwe yesterday protested over the death of their colleague who died after he was allegedly beaten by the police while in custody.
The taxi drivers who were angered by police action to go to the funeral house of their deceased colleague, Baron Mubanga in Kwacha Township and fire teargas canister, mobilized soon after leaving Kitwe Central Hospital mortuary around 12:00 hours and blocked Kwacha Road with logs disturbing flow of traffic.
Some taxi drivers who sought anonymity accused the police of being behind the death of their colleague who they claimed was arrested and beaten for failing to produce a driving license.
Uncle to the deceased driver, Martin Mulenga confirmed that Mr Mubanga died on Saturday morning, days after being beating by the police.
Mr Mulenga said that the deceased was arrested by traffic police officers for failing to produce an original driver’s license.
He said that Mr Mubanga tried to explain to the officers that he forgot the license at home and that he only had a photocopy of the license but officers decided to arrest him.
Mr Mulenga complained that the police did not respect the funeral of the deceased by walking around the funeral house with riot gears and throwing tear gas and live annunciations at the funeral house.
“They were a lot of people at the funeral house, they were people with disabilities and children but how does a qualified officer throw tear gas at funeral house,” Mr Mulenga said.
And mother to the deceased Mary Kasonka said his son started complaining of body pains and bleeding too much after he was released from police custody.
Ms Kasonka said that her son was then taken to Kitwe Central Hospital
(KCH) where he was given some injections.
She said that the deceased continued to bleed and complain of body pains and was again taken to KCH where he was readmitted until last Saturday when he died.
“The law says if a person dies within six months after being beaten they person who beat him becomes responsible for the death and in this case my son died a week after being beaten and the police should be held responsible for my son’s death,” Ms Kasonka said.
She said that her son died a sad death which would have been avoided by the police if they were professional in handling the case.
yesterday ran amok over the death of a colleague who died after
allegedly being beaten by police.
“live annunciations” WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE? LOL…teh live ammunition? iwe editor do the editing
Annunciation simply means “announcing” like that announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary of her conception of Christ. But I don’t see any connection with so called ‘live annunciation’
I think they ment to say ” live ammunition “
Throwing tear gas at a funeral house, what kind of police do we have in Zambia? Come to think of it, it’s the ‘new’ Zambia! Is this what Sata was referring to, when he said HH is fanning trouble on the copperbelt? I have not seen HH being mentioned in the article – just thinking loudly.
It was a very sad moment when Riverside police officers stormed the funeral house around 22;hrs. and started firing tear gas cannisters in the air to disperse the mourners mainly the taxi drivers who had put a fire on the kwacha road tarmac preventing the flow of traffic. Neighbouring houses who had small children in their houses were affected and it was terrible seeing families some half naked storming out of their houses after being choked by the burning gas.
that was very very bad.
whats up babuju imwe?
foolish cowards…
Unprofessional kapokolas, that is why they are fired with each change of government. Foolish bujus, even neighbours in their own houses were tear-gassed! Very sad reading indeed!
Unprofessional police…they are the ones who are in the forefront pushing citizens to riot.
Murderes dont deserve to be called a police force, they are worse than serial killers, infact they maybe just that, how many have died at their hands?
I fail to understand the so called police force -pf because in most incidents of victims dying in and after release from police custody bujus are the culprits.The so called pf are murderes of innocent pipo who fail to confront hard-core criminals when informed but give excuses of lack of transport and manpower.
Kitwe police needs an overhaul…shameless gerabo cops will not hesitate to kill anyone…the PF govt is quiet about these happenings suggesting their endorsement!! We might be forced to defend ourselves against these violent cops!!
fikapokola,bad manners twakulamiputula amolu u kno us very well.
With that haunting photo of the inside of a remand prison cell in Field Ruwe’s Hunt for a successor in my memory, I am not surprised that Mulenga died. Very few normal beings can go through that and live normally thereafter.
Anyway, we are in trouble in this country.
believe me you, experience is the best teacher, remember the KAMPASA killing by so called trained ZNS offers who killed innocent poor Zambian. killed over there mother land. May There S.R.I.P. the system has collapsed.