POLICE in Ndola have charged and arrested People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader George Mpombo for failure to secure a firearm that his son allegedly used to kill his 17-year-old lover Ruth Phiri.
Copperbelt Province commissioner of police Charity Katanga said Mr Mpombo, a former Minister of Defence, was arrested on Friday afternoon and is currently detained at Ndola Central Police.
“I want to confirm that we have formally charged and arrested PDP leader George Mpombo. We have charged him for alleged failure to secure a firearm. He is in our custody and he will be appearing in court at a date to be communicated,” Ms Katanga said.
It is alleged that Mr Mpombo’s son, George Mpombo Junior, on January 11, murdered Ruth after she informed him that she was pregnant for him.
The teenager is alleged to have subsequently beheaded Ruth before burying her body in a shallow grave, a kilometre from Chiwala Secondary School in Masaiti.
The teenager then went and dumped her head in a bush in Ndola’s second trading class area.
Earlier on Friday, when he appeared at Ndola Central Police Station, Mr Mpombo admitted that the firearm that his son allegedly used to shoot Ruth was his, but that he stole it from the house.
He said his son’s action of allegedly murdering his lover cannot be tolerated by anyone and that the law should take its course.
“The boy is my son, but he has committed a heinous crime that cannot be tolerated. The gun he used is mine but I did not realise that my son had stolen it from the house. I had no idea that he was even being interrogated by the police on Tuesday over the missing of the girl.
“I cannot condone a crime that brings the sanctity of life into disrepute. All I can say is that the law must take its course because every human being deserves to live and if they die, they should be buried in a proper manner,” Mr Mpombo said.
the boy commited a ‘heinous’ clime
Spell check malfunctioning!
I told you that it is political crime.
When Davies Chama or Kaizer shoots, no one charges him for anything.
Mpombo didn’t use any gun, and who knows that his son used it?
This is travesty! The gun was stolen for heaven’s sake!! Just let the man go and deal with the son who did the crime
Can this Katanga thing also give us an update on the gun totting thugs blocking the runway with trucks at Ndola airport yesterday or was that part of 18th October “prayers”. God is watching you heinous group
@Nostradamus
you are right boyi,,,,, as party we are very disappointed with Edgar lungu`s police, we are hoping our president wont do Another Community services for Edgar lungu, we have formally written to Dr Guy Scot (Edgar Lungu`s boss)
a typical deep chewa saying! “nkhuyu zodya mwana kupota wankulu” simply means child’s sins are always a result of how he/she was raised ( like father like son)
This is utter stup*dity, how secure do you want him to store his weapon…it’s not like he put it on display in the lounge’s glass display cabinet. The boy was 17 years for godsake it’s not like he was 9 years. ..I knew where my dad hid his rifle and bullets by time I was 12. The f**l Kaizer discharges his firearm in a hotel and he walks.
THIS IS WHY CHAGWA SHOULD GWA!! Killers are running free becoz they steal & share stolen goods & money together – but PEOPLE WHO have NOT PULLED THE TRIGGER ARE ARRESTED WITHOUT BAIL – Thieves protecting thieves – Can we are afford to make a mistake on 11/8/16??
UNLESS WE ARE REALLY STU..PID we will – continue wallowing in poverty & the crap we are currently wallowing in!!!
@Spellcheck, I was at Ndola Airport at the time of the incident and the runway was clear. The plane landed safely was attacked as it attempted to park in front of the terminal building.
Stop having children in old age. You cannot keep up with them! Teenagers need monitoring and attention but if you are in your retirement and have a robust teenage kid, this is what happens. Anyway hang the kid, murder is murder.
Why Detain the Father? something is wrong with Zambian police. Mixing a crime of a juvenile to politics is unacceptable.
The new and improved LIBIDO TEA is again in stock. Hurry whilst stock lasts!
– Weak erections?
– Premature ejaculations?
– Need more power?
– Low sperm count?
THANK YOU for the overwhelming support!
Try Libido Tea or the ever reliable PYTHO ANDRO from:
www(dot)christineshealthshop(dot)com
Ndola, Zambia.
Deliveries throughout Zambia.
Ba Mwisho,
What your son did is as you rightfully said, a heinous crime. You are within four corners of section 200 of Cap 87 (Penal Code).
What Katanga has done is to respond to State House orders to fix you for not containing to praise Lungu for your pardon.
This time ba Mwisho ba Lungu balemikaka….pantu umulandu wakwipaya umuntu wakulasana,,,,,!!
Hold on…..ba George teimwe mwapaya mukashana. Your son stole pistol and is in Police custody. Why should father pay for son sins??!!
Politics….malabishi
Read the article well, he is charged with failure to secure a fire arm and not murder like his son. There are no politicks at play in this case.
Chinena did the thugs at the Ndola airport secure their firearms? Don’t deviate just answer yes or no. After you answer that let me know when or if any of those thugs ever get charged. In a normal country they should have been shot for breaching the security of a so called international airport. Why am I even wasting my time explaining this?
@ John Chinena what exactly entails securing a fire arm? Safety catch on, hiding it in a locked drawer in the wardrobe or chest of drawers in the bedroom or buying a safe and locking it in? The police must let George go free as he states the son stole the gun!
Ba Mwisho, did you report to the police that your gun was missing and was presumed stolen? Or when did you realize that the fire arm was not in its usual safe place?
Please don’t always show your ignorance — no wonder we need the grade 12 clause. As per our laws – new and old – there exists an offence of failure not secure a weapon. Every person worthy of owning a weapon knows this law. Mpombo knows too and let him face the law, period. Your hate for PF will make it even win more cos the f00l is being seen now
Mr. George , the issue of the gun raises a lot of questions of how you keep sensitive items in your home. Did the lad enter the matrimonial bedroom or was the fire kept in the sitting room . If your son can have access to your firearm when and can not notice that it is missing from your home until the police brings it to your attention? Something is amiss here . Or does it mean that your have a lot of guns in your in home such even one is missing you would not notice? If murderous son can access to the gun when you are around, what more when you were imprisoned before the President released you from prison ?
If you owned a gun, you will know that this is a machine that you don’t check on a daily basis. The courts will clear George simply because the gun was stolen from his bedroom and secondly because he has no remorse over what the son did and he has clearly stated that let the boy face the law, this proves his innocence.
Mpombo is corrupt to the bone. I hosted a lunch for him at Luanshya’s directors’ lodge when he was Copperbelt Minister in 2006. As he was leaving, he whispered in my ear, “an envelope with a few US dollars in it can open the door to President Mwanawasa’s office!”
Am I missing something here? Man, this article is about Mr Mpombo’s failure to secure a firearm which his son used to commit a heinous crime.
What’s that got to do with the charge?
How is he in jail, when his son committed the crime? Am I missing something? Or is the ZP just drunk?
@ Nzelu
Still under influence bro?
There are three distinct issues:
1. Boy did commit murder by using his father gun;
2. Did father keep gun “secured” ?
3. I am confused as how convicted criminal (father) was allowed to keep firearm which is contrary to the law. Who issued permit?
Or, if you want sequential summary, father got permit for gun contrary to the law, the gun was not kept “secure” allowing son to get gun and commit murder.
Two are in custody but person who issued permit its still “unknown”!!!
Under the laws of Zambia , when you own a fire arm like Mr Mpombo did, you do have some responsibilities. One of which is to make sure that it does not fall in wrong hands or get misused.
@Nzelu I am asking myself the same question? And wondering the above posts and what they are talking about. The boy is the one to charge under the youth code since he is still a minor. Even though the father is corrupt, he has nothing to do with it. If he assisted in hiding the body then yes but he is an innocent man as much as I don’t like him. What are you going to charge him with, being a father?
How old is his son by the way, the article does not say. And did his father have a permit for it? Where was the gun kept? How did his son steal it? If the gun has a permit, and the boy stole it from his dad’s bedroom, then I don’t think his father should be held accountable. But if his dad kept it in the open in the living room, then that’s negligence and he should be held liable.
@Brother Baluba
There is no “code” let alone “youth code” in the Laws of Zambia. We follow Common Law and not Roman-Dutch Law where codes are used. But that discourse is for law skool.
Failure to secure a fireman is criminalised by our Cap 87 but though a strict liability offence, a defence where theft has occured should be admissible.
I wish learned Counsel for ba Mwisho good research and robust submission at no case to answer stage.
At Brother Baluba, you I would charge with ignorance, while Mpombo the father I would charge him with failure to secure a fire-arm which is also a criminal offence but is bailable and he could get away with a fine.
These time don’t release him until he rots and dies in prison so that we can imbibe his carcass and give it to starving dogs. Failure to secure a firearm is an offence
I fail to understand this,if i leave my vehicle ad my son enters my bedroom ad store the keys when i know that my son can not enter my bedroom without my concern ,after that he drove out ad hit someone .why arresting me u have to arrest the son ,too much politics in this country .
Failing to secure a fire arm is an offence.
are there any guidelines on how to secure a weapon?
is it in the bedroom’s walldrope, under the bed, in chest drawers or where?
someone please advise….
The case Colombo is facing is very simple to be understood even by a grade 2. Firearm is NOT transferable . If it’s found in the hands of someone else other than the owner, my friend you will be questioned and arrested till it’s proved that someone stole it from in a secured place. Otherwise mpombo is facing can only be decided by the court. HE even knows himself that’s why he has not cried foul by now. Please secure your firearms people, this is a grave offence that can lead to someone been jailed for not less than 15yrs especially that it has killed someone.
@Mature – the firearm must be secured beyond reach of unlicensed people. For example the gun must be under key & lock in either a wardrobe, drawer or closet etc. Now if there is proof that the boy/juvenile broke the lock then the father would go scot-free. In this case there is no proof to substantiate the fact that the boy stole the gun – in short the father was keeping the weapon carelessly.
By the way he should have used a shortcut to procure the firearms and permit – I say so because if you fall the normal procedure then you are trained how to handle the firearms before the permit is issued. This training includes safe keeping or securing of the fire arm. Most bloggers are just ranting blindly without knowing the law and its implications.
Davis, please read the penal code. Failure to secure a fire-arm or gun is a criminal offence in this country. This case is also a good lecture to all parents who own guns that your children should never know where you keep the gun as some of this children could even be family exterminators.
George Mpombo will be found with no case to answer if it is proven that he secured the gun but that his murderous son stole it. Read Zambians, read your constitution and the Zambian penal code.
I meant some of these and not “this” children!
its a FIRE ARM boss not any thing, please refer to cap 87. if u leave money and your son steals it and commits a crime you cannot be charged , bit for a fire arm its specific. ifintu filifye straight mulefikosha
Yes Failure to secure a firearm is an offence. As a former defence minister, he. Should have known better. His son should pay the death penalty or life in prison with no presidential pardon
Oh I forgot something, the witch doctor or sangoma should be arrested and face the death penalty through hanging
There is only one big punishment awaiting the Mpombo clan and ie, AVENGING EVIL SPIRITS from the dead girl.
To some of you wondering. The son is in cells for murder, the father Mpombo, for failure to secure a fire arm. The two are different offences and each one of them if found guilty will be accordingly sentenced. There are no politicks here. The police are just doing their work. The judges are the ones that will know what punishment to give to each of them. AGAIN, THERE ARE NO POLITICKS AT PLAY HERE.
What of the cases of kaizer zulu discharging a firearm in public or Chama shooting a UPND cader, they were not charged, was politics at play.???
Iwe Chinena
Those of us who keep armouries know what securing of guns is all about.
The Mpombo issue has strayed into the political fray as many others have pointed out the likes of Chama, Masumba and Kaiser are free and at large.
The offence is bailable….free ba Mwisho. We need more brohaha from him and not adumbulations from Katanga province
Ukambila pa chinena?
Iwe @12.2, stop using ignorance to rant your ill-conceived thoughts. The law is very clear that whoever owns a gun must keep it securely. Did any of the people you are mentioning in this discussion i.e. Chama, Kaizer and Masumba use other people’s guns? If they used their own guns and had permits to hold the weapons then they should have been charged under different laws for shooting and injuring concerned persons or discharging a fire-arm in a public place, etc.
As it is the police has to establish if George Mpombo Jr stole the gun, if yes the father will go scot free if Mpombo the father was careless, he will be charged under failure to secure a fire-arm and the law will take its course despite your rantings.
There’s nothing political about his arrest and this was expected. I would have been disappointed if Mpombo was not arrested, it is clear he failed to keep the firearm safely hence it ended up in very wrong hands. Responsible parents keep guns in places were only them have access to. Mwisho was extremely careless to the extent that he did not realize his gun had been stolen and used. I hope this will teach a lesson to other parents keeping firearms at home. My son doesn’t even know I have 15mm, that is how safe I keep it.
@Observer….
…I respect your opinion and u may be right in you own right…..but the word secure is subjective….you may have a rifle primarily for hunting animals when you occasionally go out on a safari…or pistol to safeguard yourself from aggressive intruders…..some would keep it under the pillow as they sleep or bedside cabinet drawer or in the wardrobe (locked)…you are trying to sound as if the boy was right to enter his fathers bedroom and get the gun…the boy was determined to get gun….he was going to do anything to get it….please tell us in detail how you secure yours we can learn one or two things….you will be shocked to learn that your boy knows not only about you gun but your girlfriend as well…..
The fact that your son has never mentioned it to you shud not make you more comfortable and sound more wise here. You will be shocked the day you will learn that he knows you have one, probably when he will find you with a side chick. Good lucky though
Politics aside, police have done nothing unusual. These are two distinct cases where both victims can be jailed on seperate counts. The father has failed to secure his arm which, due to it’s exposure, has aided the son in his heinous crime. There are no two ways about it as this is a primary crime which has led to a secondary one. Thats how it goes worldwide. Let the law take it’s course.
While you are all politicking for nothing because these ‘guys’ know how to look after themselves(both cases will be “washout”), I am concerned about the little boy, Joseph Mubanga, with the unknown growths. Ba LT, could you kindly start an online petition for his treatment! The Minister of Health and Chagwa’s administration should be petitioned.
Which is a more serious offense, 1. Failure to secure a firearm or 2. Discharging a firearm in a public place and threatening violence with it?
If a thief gets into your house (whether the thief is your own son) and steals your gun, are you going to be locked up?
The case Colombo is facing is very simple to be understood even by a grade 2. Firearm is NOT transferable . If it’s found in the hands of someone else other than the owner, my friend you will be questioned and arrested till it’s proved that someone stole it from in a secured place. Otherwise mpombo is facing can only be decided by the court. HE even knows himself that’s why he has not cried foul by now. Please secure your firearms people, this is a grave offence that can lead to someone been jailed for not less than 15yrs especially that it has killed someone.
Clear district issues. Boy commits murder,hang the chap. Father fails to secure fire arm, a ka good ten years. However sad scenarios
Comment. I’m not surprised that Mr Mpombo has finally charged for failing to take care for his firearm, This issue its not politically motivated, Mr Mpombo and his dangerous Son must rot in jail no compromise on this crime, Iwe Mpombo, Mwana wako ndi Chigananga, Taona lero uli Mchitolokosi chifukwa cholephera kusamalira mfuti yako, Bambo opusa ndi opanda nzeru, Mkhuyu zodya Mwana zimapota Akulu, Langani Bambo opusa kuti enanso atengelepo phunziro, With your Son you don’t deserve to live in our Communities, Udzalira Mayi wawaye kuja ku Ndende ndikumina Mfii!
..this saga/event is just trying to supress, divert attention and overshadow the gruesome murder at hand….if thieves came and broke into my house and steal my gun which they later use for robbery…why should I be charged..??…..what do they mean by ‘secure’….??..stealing is taking someone’s property without permission or legal right…exactly what his son did…should Mpombo physically be with his gun all the time where ever he goes or while taking a shower..??….
…please let us have more details about the murder…how old is the son..17 or 22..??..has he any psychiatric history..??..someone normal would perhaps have shot her dead and burry her in an attempt to conceal the atrocity…not going further to beheading her..eeish
Scrutinizer I just had to answer you. In your example you say a thief or robbers came in and stole your gun and used it on someone else; that is a different scenario altogether. In the Mpombo case this is a MINOR who is the responsibility of the older Mpombos to take care of who got the firearm. Mpombo didn’t report his gun stolen at all. Thus, he is under strict liability to prove that he didm’t commit the crime of failing to secure the firearm taken by his MINOR son.
As for the others alleging that Kaizar wash’t charged he was charged and taken to Court whereupon the Kavindele boys withdrew the case and no one was there to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. So what was expected of the police? To manufacture evidence?
George Mpombo well done for being reasonable and condemning your son’s crime. It is unfortunate that you are implicated for not securing your firearm.
It is tragic! Part of me thinks how is it that some of us have grown up k owing there is a firearm in the home for our safety but never for one minute thought I could use it to harm an innocent person. May the law take its course.
Let us not politicize this issue, If you fail to secure your gun and let your child have access to it is a case on its own. It is just bad to hear all these things happening and may God have mercy on us. Let us leave politics from straight forward things. I have heard sikazwe issue at the airport and pipo again bring politics in it. The role of every govt is to protect every citizens so Emmanuel mwamba is just doing his duties nothing else. Beloved brothers and sisters let us put our country forward we are one Zambia one Nation. God bless everyone
my dictionary i miss you let your bombastic sentiments flow in this case.
It’s not going to help him this time!!
George you failed to secure your gun. Don’t insult a crocodile when you are in the water. Lungu wila bafumya ba mukukulu.
If it was a two year old son, I would understand; now a 22 year old man! Our police are dull and now I have stopped blaming PF politicians for supposedly putting them (police) under pressure because it seems our police have just stopped reasoning. That man is a criminal and we heard he even attempted to rob a filling station. Are the police going to blame George Mpombo even for that? The man stole his father’s gun so how is that the father’s fault? Are you now going to start arresting people when thieves steal from them?
The boy is a pupil at Chiwala and is not 22 yet! The father should have reported the theft of his gun, which he appears not to have done. Please let the courts resolve this matter…!
Ignorance is very high in Zambia. People want to argue over the obvious. Anyone owning a gun knows the rules attached to the gun licence. Many only learn when things happen to them or their children directly.
What a problem this man is to himself!
This is not political it is a straight forward criminal case. Everyone who lawfully owns a gun in Zambia knows that there are conditions attached to it. One of the them is to keep the fire arm secure and safe from being miss used. There was no reported Robbery at Mr Limpopo’s house and therefore from the law enforcement side Mr Mpombo senior is guilty of negligence for failing to secure the gun and should share the guilty of the death of Ruth.
The law enforcement agency in Zambia should be congratulated for acting very professionally in this regard. There are two separate cases involving the Mpombo family regrettable as they may be, that of murder and that of negligence involving the son and father respectively. The law on gun ownership in any country is very clear. If you own a gun you are responsible for what it does and you are also responsible to ensure that you keep it safe and also to report to the police as soon as it is stolen from your safe place. If the gun is stolen and you are not even aware of it then according to the responsibility signed to obtain the gun you are not responsible enough. When you obtain a gun by law you assure the state that, at all times the gun will be secure and safe otherwise they do not give…
Comment:FIKAKENI FIMAMBALA
Well at least he is humble enough to condemn his own son, rightly. But I think there is a question of why the bullets were also available in the same vicinity as the gun.
My father had a Riffle and a hand gun at our farm, but even though my sister and I regularly Sussed where he hid the key to his study(he frantically kept changing hiding places, we guessed it), we never ever found either and certainly not the bullets. When he went off to New York for UN sessions, for months at a time, he showed mum, but even she could keep them safe from us. For that reason, I do believe the police are correct in this action.
It’s tragic really.
Yoh are all dull, George said,” I was not even aware that the boy was being questioned by the police and the gun is mine which he store from the house”. if you hide something it will take time to discover that someone has stolen it. Meaning George is innocent here only politics at play. How about we start with the guns that where at Ndola airport yesterday!
You are ranting, period!
The thinking of our UPND friends is disappointing. Really you cannot discuss an issue without smearing you dirty language against the President. You are not going to win elections by displaying stupidity and uncivilised behaviour. It is like most of you have lived in homes where your parents never took time develop your characters to live in communities. Maybe they were busy looking after cattle and forgot to culture their children. If this is the case, no one can change your attitude because it how you have been brought up. This is unfortunate and if you are the type who want to form government, one can only imagine what our country be like. It will a government devoid of any mannerisms. It will be jungle government or is it kraal government smelling of dung.
This man has suffered enough this is unfair he should have been given a police bond no parent can send a child to go and kill another human being the police in Zambia is crossing the line onow a serious note .
He don’t deserve to be locked but his son..should he be walkin with his gun werever he goes jst to keep it safe?
There are two weapons here gun and hoe . A gun belongs to Mr. Mpombo Sr arrested and the hoe belongs to who? Because he beheaded the young girl using the hoe, so they have to arrest also the owner the hoe .
Did Mpombo Jr. Murder the girl alone or he was helped by someone? Shooting, beheading and burying alone at his age. Kaya mwe.
How far from the shooting place to the place he buried the body?
BREAKING NEWS: Thugs forced their way into my neighbour’s house saturday night and got away with a Samsung smart TV. Fortunately the police were on high alert and apprehended the thieves as they were trying to sell their loot. As am speaking now both the thugs and my neighbour are under poilice custody. Thugs charged for stealing ….my neighbour charged for failure to secure his TV.
you are dull, if you can repeat BS 130
@son of David! be serious in your blogging. we talking about people’s emotions, well being and dignity here. How can they owner of TV be custody. unless, it was a stolen TV he had. May be you be taken in for complicity. Sad for Ba Mpompo, these Children of ours. They always drag us in the mud for their sins. But umwana Kasembe kuti kakukoma. but mwatola futi. (A son is like an Axe. It can hurt you. but you will later pick it and use it). I support Mr. Mpompo he just has to prove that the gun was secured but the son stole it. when this occurred is another story.
Gun law is very clear. Mpombo failed to secure his gun, and that’s a felony. Gun law is quite clear and tough. For instance, you cannot ask somebody to take custody of your gun as you go on a business trip somewhere. You stand to be arrested should police discover you did that. If on a journey , you cannot ask a partner to assist you carry the gun. You risk arrest for failing to secure the gun. And so on…
Too bad!
“…pregnant for him.” why not pregnant against him. Chizungu nichovuta mwe!
Mpombo junior must face a death penalty coz every human being deserve to live.
These are the consiquences of waching adult film (movies).