Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sentencing of a woman to death sends fellow prisoners weeping at Mukobeko Maximum prison

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Nearly all the incarcerated women at Mukobeko Maximum female prison last week openly wept after learning that a 24-year-old woman who murdered her baby by throwing it in a well due to economic challenges had been sentenced to death.

Sources disclosed that upon Agness Njovu’s arrival at the prison, her colleagues asked her how the judgment went and upon disclosing to them that she had been sentenced to death, the inmates all started crying out loudly.

“This is normally an area where the women live like a family but that afternoon was a solemn one to see the inmates weeping on top of their voices which also alarmed us as officers,” the source said.

The women later assisted the woman to pack her belongings before she was whisked away to the female condemned section.

Since that day, the mood had remained solemn among the female inmates. Recently Kabwe High Judge Elita Mwikisa sentenced Njovu to death by hanging after finding her guilty of having caused the death of a one-year-six month’s old baby, Angelina Mumba, saying she had no right to take the life of her own child.

Njovu threw herself in the same well.

This is in case in which Njovu was facing one count of murder committed on April 13, 2012 after she threw the toddler and another four-year old girl into a well but members of the public managed to retrieve the four-year old and her.

In her judgment, Judge Mwikisa said it was saddening that the accused ended the life of her own child and that despite the challenges, it was not wise to act in such a manner and that she should pay for her actions.

“Unfortunately my hands are tied because the charge you are faced with is very serious which attracts a sentence of death penalty and cannot be reduced. I therefore sentence you to death, to be hanged until you are pronounced dead,” she said.

47 COMMENTS

  1. No need to worry nobody has been hanged in Zambia for a long time.She will escape the hangman noose.Her act was evil though.

    • AND yet Mo taim tata there is forgiveness! Chi penal code cha pa Zambia has to be revisited, most of the laws in that document take us back to colonial days…issues such as stealing a chicken from my farm because you want to feed your starving kids would still land you years in jail, oro ka dobo ka one ball you will rot…what this woman did was evil BUT she never walked away after the act-she jumped in. If she had a gun…she should have been sentenced for years…killing her doesn’t really solve the case…there is still a four year old who needs closure at the right time…again, just my opinion…Easter Oslo tata when do you arrive?!

    • @Dojo Do.You are right mudala.I can`t agree more.High time we got rid of some of the laws and rules.Easter ndimunchinde mudala.It is on on.Will communicate.

    • I wonder what Mrs. Sata can react if she was visiting Mukobeko and prisoners start weeping in such a reported manner.
      Bane poverty hurts so bad, all these women/ girls who are throwing their babies in Lake Kariba and in well, have limited options. Government, churches, families are all broken in Zambia. Zambia needs a powerful leader, but the Hugo Chavez they never come-by easily.

    • If njovu has no right to take life then the the judge has no right to take someone life too. Why kill you are equally committing the same crime the accused did

    • We cannot condemn the weeping women inmates my fellow bloggers.Women typically have emotions that’s how our creator created them.We will find that even armed robber that have killed people when they shot by the police women will be there to weep and mourn despite knowing that the person they are shedding their tears for was a armed robber.We all know the bible does not allow shedding of blood or taking some one’s life like in the case of my young sister who threw herself and her off spring in a well to ran away from earthly problems.Many a time with poor ladies fell prey to wolfs (men) in sheep skins who promise everything to these poor ladies just to satisfy their sexual appetite and desires leaving the poor ladies with the burden of raising their offspring single handled.

    • this is the most barbaric system of justice. of what benefit to anyone is it to take away this woman’s life? i know judge elita mwikisa from a long time back growing up in livingstone and she is one of the nicest people i have come across, so when she says her hands are tied, she really means it. thats not the first option she would go for. all in all , we have two victims here: judge mwikisa and agness ndhlovu

    • There is no Father here. This woman got pregnant from taverns where she was sleeping with different men for K5,000 (old currency) in the streets. Worse still she was practicing unprotected sex so she is also infected. She has no excuse for problems caused by herself. There are many women out there living in poverty but they humble themselves waiting for their day to come; they do not rush into street sex work.

  2. this is the most barbaric system of justice. of what benefit to anyone is it to take away this woman’s life? i know judge elita mwikisa from a long time back growing up in livingstone and she is one of the nicest people i have come across, so when she says her hands are tied, she really means it. thats not the first option she would go for. all in all , we have two victims here: judge mwikisa and agness ndhlovu

  3. The judge’s hands were indeed tied, it is just too much of these irresponsible women making babies and dumping them at the mercy of the mighty death. Thou shall not kill lest you are killed too. This must send a strong message to irresponsible women out there. Even you men do not just be sperm donors and vanish in the wilderness, only dogs bang and never care what they have left behind. Let us be responsible and practice safe sex if we are not able to bare the consequences of parenthood. Who said it was going to be easy anyway? Chabulanda sane mwe! The soul of that kid rest in peace!

  4. why do we fight fresh and blood the lady need deliverance. if the lady die then both her blood and baby will be on the judge.

  5. The Judge misjudged i think ananyengako, the girl threw herself in the well too, so she wanted to die too, hence shud be forgiven

  6. Whatever reason there may be, there is no right taking innocent lives, when getting involved in illicity and unprotected sex, people forget the realities of life, only to wakeup when jack has hit the road, if she had one child you would think otherwise with the wrong descions over sex, not “murder”, but more than two children and at 24?on top of that you commit the most evil deed? i dont think so………, i shall not feel sorry now, how many more innocent souls to die this way? i say…, let her meet her fate, i sound crude but people……., have to respect life!

    • The Equalizer, there is no Irony with purnishment, the Law is very clear here, you commit murder, you get the same.If we get too sentimental and emotional where are we going to be?

  7. I hope the day comes soon when Zambia will relegate the death penalty to history, as has happened elsewhere in the civilised world.

    Nothing justifies the taking of a human life. When the State does this, in cold blood, it is no different from any other murder. It is simply legalized murder.

    • Then why would you kill intentionally so that after you are caught you blame the government? The fact that you know what you are doing makes you qualify to be killed for your crime Enstein!

    • And how much research have you. Done regarding the benefits of such and action? Laws are not made to your whims please. God almighty has astablished the death penalty for certain crimes like murder. Who can understand mankind and deterrents most effective other than our creator himself.

  8. The judgement is pointless, i everyone who read the story knows that this woman wanted to kill herself in the first place thats why she was trying to commit suicide until those people decided to rescue her, Bo mwikisa’s judgement does not change anyyhing here,if due to economic problems was the reason behind her motivation,she does not want to live a miserable life of no food.
    Unfortunately she will live the rest of her life in jail coz no hunging has taken place in zambia for a long time,maybe this will make her repent and realise what she did was wrong

  9. Sometimes what we do in our lives deserve death penalty, it’s only that we are not caught. May God have mercy on us

  10. May the President pardon the poor lady. U hang her that evil spirit enters another saul and the cycle continues. killing her won’t solve anything. May the LORD JESUS SAVE HER. IN JESUS’ NAME SHE WON’T B HANGED. DEVIL U A LIER!

  11. THIS IS A CLEAR SIGN THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG IN OUR SYSTEM. THE WOMAN DOES NOT DESERVE A DEATH SENTENCE FOR WHAT SHE DID, IS A MANIFESTATION OF A NEGLICTED SOCIETY WHERE PEOPLE LIKE HER HAVE NO ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT SOCIAL HELP. THE SO CALLED NGO’S ARE RUN BY PEOPLE WHOSE SOLE AIM IS TO MAKE MONEY FOR THEMSELVES BY PRETENDING THAT THEY ARE HELPING THE POOR. THE WOMAN NEEDS ALL SORTS OF HELP AND NOT THE DEATH PENALTY.

  12. If a man takes another persons life it is murder. Who ever will hang this woman shall committing murder. Our ultimate destiny on earth is death. Everyone one day will die including the Judge and the hangman. We are all condemned to die. I find it absurd therefore that human beings should willfully desire to exterminate others by death as punishment for crime. If you look at this woman you will see that she was driven to do what she did by the pressure of social demands which society has created. She has suffered and what she needed was rehabilitation. Unfortunately instead of addressing the underlying issues all we can do is murder her. Is this humane? Oh! You nation of murderers is this what education has rendered you to be?

    • If this woman is hanged eventully, who will be guilty of her murder; the judge, the hangman, the president for sanctioning the hangining or the people of zambia for making this law?

  13. Death is not a punishment and is not a lesson to the sentenced, life imprisonment is even more punishment, that woman according to the story after throwing the baby into the the well she also threw herself there probably to commit suicide, the sentence then hasn’t solved anything coz its supporting her agenda. Its like finding someone hanging by the rope you save him and take him to the court and sentence him by hanging for the act, then you could as well left him hang to death by himself. Colonial laws need to be repealed.

  14. Sometimes, some of these acts are due to lack of knowledge / Options, It is so easy to condemn but what have we done as community to help. Surely no one would want to kill or throw a child. It is poverty and anguish that lead to such when our Ministers are busy getting FAT. Do we have Children Welfare in that Country?? Publish your toll free numbers to let suffering citizens reach you. SAD TO READ SUCH ACTS MTBSRIP.

  15. She must be hanged!Murderes psychologically are known to be ruthless and have no mercy for the people they excute illegally,why would you feel mercy for this people.I do not know why they are keeping them on death row .This people have to die!They have to be excuted just like they excuted their victims!

  16. Ndeloleshafye…ukwipaya umwana uuli uobe!! I lost my son whom I fought so hard for two months to make sure he recuperates from his ailment unfortunately he passed on..

  17. It is good to see people discussing this case, for and against. It is easy, in this case, to feel pity for the woman considering her circumstances. But just for a minute, take a case of hard core criminals running around with guns with only murder in their minds. They break into homes with the sole purpose of stealing, raping women and girls and killing. They have no regard for human life at all. If the system does its work properly and such people are caught with all the evidence (I want to rule out accidental guilty findings), what would people say about such characters, knowing they killed intentionally? And put yourself in the shoes of the victims’ relatives, brothers, sisters, children. One case is the recent Mido death in RSA, where the police beat the Mozambican to death.

  18. the reward of sin is death, she has nothing to live for since she wanted to take her life in the very first place by throwing herself in the well, it is just unfortunate that she wanted to kill the innocent 4years old child and that she has killed the other

  19. Mr. Sata, we need an execution soonest. Let us put into practice what the law says. Your failure to sign death warrants means that you are breaching your constitutional oblogations. Sign those warrants so that we can see an execution. It should even be shown on the T.V.

  20. This is sad, both for the mother and the child…..but mummy was so unfair..thats why SOS is there…not even sure if i should feel sorry for her…May the baby RIP

  21. A lot has been said.As a Geographer,i think issues of over population and settlement need to be addressed as these contribute vices in society.In this instance i feel a law should be passed that will insure that those that have no means to look after themselves should not bear children.Further i proposed that a child should be in the fathers custody after three years if the parents have divorced.The stubbornness of the to allow the child to be with the father after seven years should be eliminated because it has contributed to single mother to be victims of vices. A sample survey shows that among poor people birth rate is higher than among the educated people.

  22. This young lady regreted how she could not look after her kids, deeply saddened by what they were going through, and so decided to kill them and then take her own life. That in itself suggests that she had no confidence in any of her relatives, if she has any. Now, the judge is saying she should not have attempted to kill herself, let the State do that on her behalf. What about the four year old? Has the judge addressed herself to that question? Should the State kill the four year old as well? As a firm believer in situational ethics, I hold that there should be ethics even in the interpretation of the law. The President should pardon the young mother on 25th May 2013, and help her resettle. I am sure there are many of uis willing to suport her in whichever way we can.

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