Five die in Solwezi accident

By BUTTYSON KANDIMBA
FIVE people including a one-year-old child have died in a road traffic accident on the Solwezi-Chingola road.
The accident happened on Wednesday around 16:45 hours at Kabitaka near the Solwezi weighbridge.
North-Western Province deputy commissioner of police Michael Nkaka said in an interview yesterday that the accident happened when a Mercedes Benz truck and trailer collided with an unregistered Toyota Raum saloon car resulting in the death of the occupants.
The driver of the Toyota Raum, David Bwalya, 36, of Urban township died on the spot.
Others who died in the accident were Doris Mwewa, 31, Marble Chanda, 56, both of Magrade township, one-year-old Angel Bwalya and Joyce Mwewa, the wife of the driver of the car.
The driver of the truck is Milward Chisenga Chilufya, 31, of Pamodzi in Ndola.
Mr Ndaka said Bwalya and two others died on the spot.  Two others died on arrival at Solwezi General Hospital.
Mr Nkaka said all the bodies of the deceased are lying in Solwezi General Hospital  Mortuary awaiting post-mortem and burial.
The truck driver has been charged with allegedly causing death by dangerous driving and is in police custody.
Meanwhile, the Zambia Police intellectual property unit in Solwezi has destroyed counterfeit products worth K2,392,396.
The counterfeit products included DVDs and CDs valued at K248,580, mobile phones  worth K2, 095, 396 and fake Protex herbal soap valued at K48,016.
Speaking during the destruction exercise at the council dump site yesterday, Mr Nkaka said the sale of counterfeit products has devastating effects on the country’s economy.
Mr Nkaka said it is sad that Government has continued to lose a lot of revenue which can be used to build infrastructure like hospitals and roads through the sale of counterfeit products.
He warned distributors and retailers of counterfeit products that the law will visit them and advised them to lay their hands off other people’s genuine products.
“I would like, therefore, to warn all the distributors and retailers that the law will sternly visit them and let me also warn the perpetrators of intellectual property crimes that they should lay their hands off people’s genuine products,” Mr Nkaka said.