By MWILA NTAMBI
THE widow of former Wusakile member of Parliament Barnabas Chella on Monday narrated to the Kitwe High Court how she found a mob wielding machetes and axes just before her husband was hacked to death.
This is in a case in which seven people have been indicted for the murder of the former parliamentarian.
Particulars of the offence are that Frederick Mulusa, Robby Mwelwa, Joyce Mwansa, Eric Mendulo, Samson Chisala, Kenneth Chisanga and Derrick Kalunga, on September 5 last year, in Kitwe, murdered Mr Chella.
The offence is contrary to Section 200 Chapter 87 of the Penal Code of the Laws of Zambia.
All the seven accused persons denied the charge.
When the matter came up for trial on Monday, Mary Nakazwe Chella, 48, of Farm number 3517, Kamfinsa area in Kitwe testified that between 08:30 hours and 09:00 hours on the material day, her husband phoned and told her that a lot of people armed with all sorts of weapons had besieged his farm number 3416.
Mrs Chella told Kitwe High Court judge Catherine Makungu that she and her 26-year old son Jacob and three farm workers immediately drove to the farm where Mr Chella was.
She narrated that as they drew closer to the farm, she saw accused person number three, Joyce Mwansa, who stopped the vehicle, with a log in her hand.
“She came to the driver’s window and told my son that ‘you young man, we have closed the road, where you are going?’. We have put logs. Today Chella will not leave the farm, we will kill him,” Mrs Chella narrated.
She said Mwansa further warned Mr Chella’s son, Jacob, that if he continued driving the vehicle forward, they would break it.
Mrs Chella told the court that for sure, the road leading to the farm had been blocked with logs and that her son and the three farm workers disembarked from the vehicle and cleared the road.
She said when they reached the farm, they found a lot of people wielding machetes, axes, hoes and bottles and that they started charging towards the vehicle.
Mrs Chella testified that her son fired a warning shot in the air and that the crowd scampered in all directions and that she saw accused number three, Mwansa, also scamper from the scene where there was confusion to another direction.
She narrated that immediately after that, she heard workers screaming that Mr Chella had been killed.
Mrs Chella said her husband was axed on the right side of his head and that blood was oozing while the axe that was used was on the ground.
She narrated that her husband was immediately rushed to Wusakile Mine Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Under cross examination, Mrs Chella said she did not see anyone descend on or assault her husband.
Another witness, Precious Chella identified accused person number one, Frederick Mulusa, as the one who allegedly axed Mr Chella.
She also identified the axe that was used in hacking the former parliamentarian to death.
And another witness, Gilbert Sasaika, narrated that on the material day, Mr Chella had directed him and other workers to do some work in the tomato fields and that as they were working, he just heard a lot of people making noise.
Mr Sasaika testified that his fellow worker by the name of Fewdays had been held and beaten by the assailants.
He said the mob had sticks, axes and machetes.
Mr Chella’s younger brother, Rueben, told the court that he wept when he saw the deep cut on his late brother’s head during postmortem.
Trial continues on January 23.
172 total views, 172 views today