Zambia Police in Central Province have arrested a 34-year-old man of Mkushi District in connection with the inferno that claimed seven lives on the morning of Saturday, August 25, 2018 around 01:30 hours.
Central Province Commissioner of Police, Joel Njase, has confirmed the arrest to the media in a statement and identified the suspect as Obert Bubala of Mkushi’s Itala area.
Mr Njase said the suspect was arrested around 09: 00 hours this morning and has been whisked away to Kapiri Mposhi Police Station for safe custody from the angry mob that wanted to beat him in Mkushi.
He said the suspect has since confessed that he torched the grass thatched house in which the victims were sleeping using a cigarette and, will be charged with seven counts of murder and one count of arson.
The deceased have been identified as 57-year-old Royda Chisenga, female juveniles Natasha Musonda aged ten, Sharon Daka aged nine, Messia Daka and Evelyn Chibuye both aged four as well as male juveniles Kennedy Daka aged six and Ophen Musonda aged eight of Mwitwa Farm about two Kilometres West of Mkushi turn-off.
The Police Chief said the suspect was cornered along the railway line where he was hiding this morning after he approached a group of women who were washing to ask for soap to clean his face but was identified and reported to Tazara Police Station.
Commissioner Njase explained that the suspect disclosed that he spent four nights plotting how to execute his devilish vengeful mission to burn his ex-wife and the children at a named lodge.
Mr Njase also said the suspect whose dowry was returned because of his abusive nature further revealed that he carried out his horrific act because he was spending a lot of money on his former wife in maintenance costs.
The headline needs proof-reading.
Sentence him….useless fellow….!!!
Let the idiot rot in jail…
yaba we have lost 7 votes for PF in 2021 by this chap, let him be killed also not jailing HIM
PF cadres so dull and ignorant, 7 and 9 year olds will be eligible to vite in 2021? Unless of course you’ve been using underage voters all along, in whicj=h case I will not be surprised
LT why did you not put as your headline that the suspect is PF ?
Was he an UPND cadre, the arsonists’ organization? Please bring us more data. Condolences.
What has his pf membership or the losing of votes got to do with this.let us show humananity and put politics s aside. Lives were lost here.
Just wondering when people will ever discuss a topic without bringing in politics.
There are some lose ends here. Does it mean a 34 year old man married a 57 year old woman? The fella must be hanged till pronounced dead.
My heartfelt condolences. Too bad. A lot of lives are being lost through accidents… May the Almighty God intervene in this nation Zambia
So this devil has killed innocent people and her target(ex-wife) has remained alive. Little did he know that on the material day, the ex-wife had gone out to nurse her sister who was sick. I wish this man could be killed more than seven times!!!!
There is nothing in this world that should anger a man to warranty killing people (and worse still children) like that.
Just imagine the events that happened before these people finally stopped breathing: They smell the smoke, possibly suffocate, start getting burnt slowly, try to find the door but can’t and finally give up and breath the last breath!
So sad!!!