A somber atmosphere envelops the University of Zambia (UNZA) community following the tragic electrocution of Margaret Chibesakunda, a 22-year-old third-year Public Administration student. The incident occurred the night of April 6 at approximately 21:30 hours within the confines of the UNZA Great East Road Campus, October Hostels.
According to Rae Hamoonga, the Police Spokesperson, Chibesakunda suffered fatal injuries while attempting to plug her phone charger. The attempt resulted in a sudden electric shock, causing severe burns to her neck, right elbow, and leg.
In a statement released by Hamoonga, it was confirmed that Chibesakunda’s lifeless body has been transported to the University Teaching Hospital Mortuary pending further investigation, including a postmortem examination and funeral arrangements.
The untimely demise of Chibesakunda has reignited concerns over the safety and maintenance of electrical infrastructure within the university premises. Students have expressed dismay over the substandard condition of electrical connections, citing missing plugs, sockets, and adaptors, as well as exposed wires without adequate protection.
The tragic incident underscores the urgent need for UNZA management to address the precarious state of electrical installations across campus. The safety and well-being of students should be a top priority, and immediate measures must be taken to prevent similar accidents in the future.
As the UNZA community mourns the loss of Margaret Chibesakunda, calls for accountability and proactive measures to ensure the safety of students resonate louder than ever. This devastating loss serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of prioritizing infrastructure maintenance and student welfare within educational institutions.
Meanwhile the University of Zambia Management says it has put place measures to ensure Police and other relevant authorities conduct investigations on the case of electrocution of Margaret Chibesakunda.
UNZA Registrar Theresa Chalwe said a detailed report on the matter will be issued once investigations are concluded.
She has appealed to members of the public to respect the privacy of the bereaved family as investigations are being conducted.
Ms. Chalwe said the family of Ms Chibesakunda has been contacted, and the University has offered to give support in any way possible to the bereaved family.
All those burns for trying to charge a phone? Was this beautiful student charging a phone that requires 12vdc at a substation.
It’s so sad that a young life has been lost in such circumstances. The family is obviously inconsolable and condolences go them them on this sad loss.
Such things unfortunately have been known to happen occasionally. Chances are that the fault should lies with the handset or its charging cable. If it was something to do with a power surge, surely more students should have been affected.
This makes not sense, and has no basis in science. Please keep to your kaponya daily vocation, and stay out of things you do not know.
UNZA is a death trap…the toilets dont work…the electrical system is faulty….
You know nothing about electrical engineering. This has nothing to do with faulty electricity. A cellphone charger is a very dangerous device because at the input, the 220 volts is rectified to 316 volts DC before it is chopped and fed into the step down transformer. It is possible that she was used a defective charger whose case was broken, or one in which an inadequate isolation gap was breached, so that the secondary shorted to 316 volts. Unza is in a state of disrepair because you tribalists took the money that should have gone to the upkeep of the institution to fund the university in your tribal province. Zambia needs to be turned into a federation to end this nonsense.
@ I hate Kaizar Zulu… mate what are you on about? Stop misleading people and yourself. Where did you get that that 316 DC from?
Mobile phone charger are some kind of step down transformers or step down converter that converts high voltage to low voltage, usually transforming AC current to DC current. It just moves from 220V to 5V… there’s a rectifier in the middle of the process.
Plus it’s not voltage that k!lls you but current anyway.
New electrical theories???
Another milestone by the upnd.
You’re celebrating the loss of a young and innocent life in such tragic circumstances. Such a low life you are.
Uku kutumpa. You have forgotten when your demonic regime was busy killing students for fun?
Some girl dies in an electrical accident, and it is the fault of UPND? Why? Because we Tonga are now supplying you faulty electricity, which is targetting only girls from your tribe? Or are you talking because you hate us, and have to blame us, even when we are nowhere near the incident, as was the case when your relatives were killed when robbing that mine on the Copperbelt?
sad
Don’t mind Deja Vu. He’s my brother. His full names are Deja Vu Gunyu Masaka
The family of this young lady should quickly find a lawyer to sue the University and the government for their negligence in not maintaining the University’s safety to proper acceptable standards. Sue them for not less that a million dollars. This is totally unacceptable. How many more students will have to die at this hellhole deathtrap place you call a University? Sue them.
The university should hire me, and I will destroy that lawyer. You know nothing about electrical engineering. There is nothing in the electricity supply that could have caused her to die. Read my explanation about for why the switched mode power supplies are inherently dangerous devices. If anything, this girl was using a broken or defective adapter. This is something any electrical engineer can prove in less than 5 minutes.
@Piranya Dunderheads can’t even see the iron in my post. How can I celebrate a death of a person as if I will never die myself. The message is that your party and government have failed to improve the facility hence such an unusual death.
But why wasn’t the facility improved during by the previous regime that was in power longer than the current regime.
Nowadays cooking is done in the rooms. Students have to save on their allowances so stoves and fridges have invaded space designed for tiny electrical devices. I doubt whether the hostels are regularly inspected by the authorities.
You are trying to blame UPND because a girl from your tribe has died in an unfortunate accident. This is repugnant.
I support you. That tribe, not the Tongas, should be blamed for the dismal performance of the women’s national football team (the Copper Queens), not the Tongas. Bruce Mwape is an imbecile. Watch the way he stands in his technical area during matches: hands on hips, pot belly bulging. He could not plan a way to win against Morocco, but the Moroccans analysed Zambia’s faults and took advantage. Time for a new coach, from another tribe (even Lozi, Luvale, etc.).
The tribal gathering of Bemba haters is slowly recruiting other bloodsakas. You will never defeat the great Bemba nation. Just go hide under a rock while we take Zambia to progress. Try saying the sh*t you are spewing in public and see how backward you are the two of you.
This is the resulteren the country is rules by criminals and womanizers. They only think of money for themselves and their families and how to pay off prostituees for their sexual satisfications. University of Zambia is now in ruins and finished. In my days university of Zambia was a national pride. The same criminals have stollen all the money and created own universities. We thieving black Zambians have failed.to rule. Let us just recall the white colonizers to come and rule us again.
Waya saana, do not praise them colonisers!
Iwe Phiri go call your colonizers alone. Some of us treasure our freedom but you house niggers always want the master to take charge.
Definitely a faulty electrical system. If a faulty ir defective appliance causes a short circuit thar create a surge of electricity, at a minimum, it should cause a breaker assigbed to the area to trip or main breaker to trip. This is a safery mechanism designed in the electrical wiring system. It should not kill someone unless the surge was that powerful or there are no breakers at all. Yes in rare circumstances it could cause overheating electrical fire or damage to the equipment, but I can’t see this from just charging a phone. I definitely suspect defective electrical safety design.
@ I hate Kaizar Zulu… mate what you on about? Stop misleading people and yourself. Where did you get that that 316 DC from?
Mobile phone charger are some kibd of step down transformers or step down converter that converts high voltage to low voltage, usually transforming AC current to DC current. It’s just moves from 220V to 5V… there’s a rectifier in the middle of the process.
Plus it’s not voltage that kills you but current anyway.