By JERRY MUNTHALI
POLICE in Mufulira have arrested a man of Kankoyo for allegedly murdering his 23-year-old friend over football.
And a 38-year-old miner of Chimanimani in Kabwe died instantly after falling from a timber scaffold at the Mopani Copper Mine (MCM) smelter in Mufulira.
Copperbelt commissioner of police Mary Tembo confirmed the two incidents in an interview on Tuesday.
In the murder case, Ms Tembo said the incident happened on Monday around 18:00 hours at Fibusa grounds in Kankoyo.
She named the deceased as Hector Kashila of house number 294/B while the suspect has been identified as Dingani Tembo of house number 401/C in Kankoyo.
“There were two teams of young boys playing football. Tembo was supporting one of the teams while Mr Kashila was supporting the other.
“The team that Mr Kashila was supporting won and Tembo’s team lost.
“This annoyed Tembo and he picked up a bamboo stick and hit Mr Kashila on the head with it,” Ms Tembo said.
She said Mr Kashila died instantly after the assault while Tembo ran away.
Ms Tembo said a doctor certified Mr Kashila dead on arrival at Ronald Ross Hospital.
She said police have arrested Tembo and charged him with murder.
In the mine accident, Ms Tembo named the deceased as Gerepatsho Mulenga, a contractor cutter of Danny Engineering.
Ms Tembo said the accident happened on Saturday around 12:04 hours at the old electric furnace precipitator at the MCM smelter.
“Mr Mulenga died instantly after falling from a single timber platform which they put up while dismantling scraps from the old precipitator which is about 20 metres high,” Ms Tembo said.
She said Mr Mulenga crawled for two metres before he died.
“It was noted that he had not tied the safety hook on the line which could have suspended him in the air,” Ms Tembo said.
She said Mr Mulenga’s body is in the Malcom Watson Hospital mortuary awaiting post-mortem and burial.
207 total views, 129 views today