The Times of Zambia Ndola

Child Killer to Hang

Times Reporter

THE Lusaka High Court yesterday sentenced to death Evans Mazuba and sent his two younger brothers to prison under Presidential detention for murder of an eight year old girl whose body was discovered in a man-hole in Woodlands area last year.

 High Court Judge Thomas Ndhlovu sentenced Evans, 21 of Lusaka to death, for murdering Bethsheba Chawaya on May 26, last year at house number 21 Lima road.

 The court ordered, Victor, 19 and the 16 year old juvenile be sent to prison under Presidential detention following a report from the social welfare department.

 In sentencing the trio, Judge Ndhlovu said were it all up to him, all the three brothers would have faced the death penalty, but he had to contend with Section 25 sub section 2 which dictated that Mazuba's younger accomplices be detained at the pleasure of the President.

 The court decided to include 19-year-old Victor under the Presidential mercy because at the time the offence was committed, he was a juvenile.

 'You all deserve the death penalty but you are lucky that there is a provision for you under section 25 and I can not go behind it; otherwise all of you are guilty and should have faced the death penalty,' said Judge Ndhlovu.

 'Why did you do this to an eight-year-old girl when there are a lot of women along Addis Ababa road whom you would have picked up to satisfy your pleasure? But you decided to brutalise the young girl and therefore disqualified yourselves from being part of a civilised society,' he said.

 Social welfare officer Webby Muntaba, 44, who presented a report from his office, said that the two, the juvenile and Victor came from a broken home following the death of their mother.

 Mr Muntaba said that the two brothers who were interviewed together with their father, had pleaded ignorance of the murder.

 He said that the boys who were both under the age of 18 at the time the crime was committed, were first offenders and were of sober character and also suffered from a family affliction of asthma.

 'I recommend that Victor be put on a two-year probation at the social welfare office in Monze, unless the court has an alternative arrangement, while the juvenile should be pardoned so that he can continue with his school and can undergo a personality and character development,' he said.

 The three brothers murdered Bethsheba, who lived in the servants quarters of their home with an elder sister.

 They were alleged to have used a screw driver to stab her after raping her and later threw her body in a man-hole at their residence. The body was discovered after 18 days.