A Resident of Senga Village in Senga Hill District of Northern Province has bemoaned the rising number of motorbike accidents along the Senga-Chinakila Road.

Senga Village Secretary, Nonde Sichilima, has attributed this to the excessive speeding and absence of speed-reducing humps.

Mr Sichilima says the community has been recording a number of tragic incidents involving motorbike crashes, with some accidents resulting in the loss of lives.

Mr Sichilima said this in an interview with ZANIS in Senga Hill District today.

He has since disclosed that as a way to respond to the problem, the community has taken an initiative to raise funds towards the construction of road humps.

Mr Sichilima disclosed that each household in the area has been requested to contribute K10 to purchase cement and other materials for the project.

He added that the community will engage the Road Development Agency (RDA) to assist in the implementation of the project.

Mr Sicilima has also called on neighbouring villages to support the initiative, describing it as a noble cause aimed at saving lives and improving road safety for all.

A 35-year-old woman has tragically died in a road accident after she fell off a motorbike and was run over by an oncoming motor vehicle in Mpika district of Muchinga Province.

Muchinga Province Police Commissioner, Dennis Moola confirmed to the media that the accident happened at Kamambwe gold mine along Chipundu gravel road about 35 kilometers east of Mpika Boma.

Mr Moola said the accident happened around 10 hours yesterday. He said a woman, identified as Mercy Mula aged 35 from Mikanga village in Mpika district, was run over by an Isuzu UD 90 bearing registration number BAD 2882 after falling off a Gatoma Motorbike bearing registration number ARC 7408 ZM.

Ms Mula was a passenger on the Gatoma motorbike.

According to Mr Moola, the accident happened after the motorcycle rider lost control of the bike causing the passenger to fall off the motorbike and was then run over by the motor vehicle which was coming from the opposite direction.

He explained that the driver of the Isuzu UD 90 and motorcycle rider both fled the scene after the accident.

Mr Moola explained that the now deceased sustained bleeding from nose, fractured right hand cut on the head, and was pronounced dead upon arrival at Mpika urban clinic and the body has since been deposited to Mpika urban clinic mortuary awaiting postmortem examination.

Meanwhile, Mpika District Commissioner, David Siame has expressed sadness at the untimely death of Ms Mula.

Mr Siame noted with concern that Mpika district has recorded an increased number of traffic accidents involving motorcycles in the past few months.

“I am urging all motorbike riders to be extremely conscious as they ride their motorbikes,” he said.

Two people have died in a road traffic accident along the Great North Road near Maleba Layby, about five kilometers north of Choma Town.

Southern Province commanding officer Auxensio Daka confirmed the Road Traffic Accident which occurred on October 16, 2025, at around 18:40 hours.

Mr Daka said the accident occurred when the driver of the Volvo Truck and Trailer registration numbers CAH 2269 ZM, CAH 2271 ZM, and CAH 2270 ZM from south to north failed to keep to his near-side lane.

He said it thereby collided with the VW Golf registration number BBF 4948 ZM from north to south and Land Rover Freelander registration number AIE 4384 ZM, also from north to south, which were both traveling in the opposite lane.

Mr Daka identified the deceased as Abel Kabole Chanda, aged 45, of unknown house number, MC, Livingstone, who was driving a VW Golf motor vehicle who sustained fatal injuries and died on the spot.

Mr Daka identified the other as Veronica Chimwongo Masheta,36, who was in the Land Rover Freelander motor vehicle, of unknown house number, Riverside, Choma, who sustained fatal injuries and died on the spot.

He said involved was Mr Emmanuel Mbokoshi, aged 45, of house number ZT 45, Chandamali Compound, Choma, who was driving a Land Rover Freelander motor vehicle, also from north to south. He sustained serious head injuries, and the vehicle was extensively damaged.

“On board the Land Rover Freelander were four passengers, one of whom died on the spot while the remaining three sustained serious injuries,” Mr Daka said.

He identified the injured passengers as Oliness Kachimba,43, of unknown house number, Chandamali Compound, Choma, who sustained a cut on the right eye and general body pains,

Others are Mwiitwa Masheta, aged two years, of Riverside Township, Choma, who sustained a cut on the right eye and general body pains and Male Juvenile, Tumelo Masheta, aged six years, of Riverside Township, Choma, who sustained a suspected fractured right hand and general body pains.

He said the injured passengers have since been admitted to Choma General Hospital, where they are receiving treatment.

Mr Daka said the bodies of the deceased persons have since been deposited in Choma General Hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem.

Mr Daka has since urged all motorists to exercise lane discipline and avoid improper overtaking, adding that drivers are reminded that maintaining the correct lane and observing traffic regulations is essential in preventing road crashes and saving lives.

First Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Malungo Chisangano, has revealed that Zambia is the first country, out of the 11 Southern African Development Community (SADC) nations who are part of Parliamentary Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) project, to come up with the initiative of setting up a group of parliamentarians to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Speaking when she officiated at the belated commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child at Parliament in Lusaka today, Ms Chisangano said the caucus has about 50 Members of Parliament who are part of the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, Life Skills and Health Education and are supported by the SADC SRHR project.

She stated that sanitary hygiene should be addressed candidly and respectfully as it is a natural part of life, particularly for girls and women.

“There is absolutely nothing shameful about talking about the changes that come with puberty as they are normal biological processes that should not be surrounded by stigma or silence,” she added.

The First Deputy Speaker highlighted the importance of sanitary hygiene saying it is not just a matter of health, but also of human rights, equity and respect.

Ms Chisangano has since urged the girls and boys to freely participate as their submission will help the government identify ways of making sanitary pads and better healthcare packages for them and other young people affordable.

And a Child Activists under AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Charity Chanda has called for the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on sanitary pads in order to make them more affordable.

Meanwhile, Boys to Men Vice President, Treva Nkole appealed to the parliamentarians to allocate funds to the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education in the national budget for free pads in public schools especially in rural areas.

And a pharmacologist, Thandiwe Zulu, also called for the removal of importation taxes of raw materials used in the manufacturing of sanitary pads.

Ms Zulu explained that the removal of the importation taxes will reduce the cost of sanitary manufacturing thereby making sanitary pads more affordable.

Copperbelt Province Minister, Elisha Matambo, has called on Zambians to forgive one another and avoid harbouring hatred as the country commemorates the National Day of Prayer, Fasting, Repentance and Reconciliation tomorrow.

‎Mr Matambo said during the Bible Reading in Ndola today, that Christian values should help Zambians to embrace love and unity.

‎He noted that Zambians should practice true repentance and avoid pretence in order to attract the blessings of God.

‎The Minister further urged Zambians to turn up in numbers tomorrow to worship God in truth and spirit.

‎Mr Matambo, who read the Bible from Genesis chapter 8, said God remembered Noah and fulfilled all the promises, noting that He will similarly remember all Zambians.

He has also appealed to Zambians to pray for rains to help in eradicating the load management of power which the country is experiencing.

Meanwhile, Copperbelt Province Permanent Secretary, Lawrence Mwanza, also appealed to Zambians to continue cherishing the unity that the country has continued to embrace.

Goods worth thousands of Kawcha have been destroyed in a fire that gutted two shops under unclear circumstances at the new Market area in Mufumbwe District of Northwestern Province.

Northwestern Province Police Commissioner Brighton Siwale confirmed the incident, which occurred on October 14, 2025, around 06:00 hours.

In a statement issued to the media in Solwezi today, Mr Siwale said Mwinilunga Police Station received a report of the fire on October 15, 2025, at about 07:30 hours from Ross Shimona, aged 28, of GR Compound, who reported that her shop and two others had been burnt, destroying goods worth thousands of kwacha.

“Brief facts of the matter are that the reporter and other victims operate makeshift shops at the New Market area near the Green Market section, where they sell groceries and other assorted products,” he said.

Mr Siwale explained that on October 13, 2025, the shop owners closed their businesses for the day, only to wake up the next morning to find their shops engulfed in flames and all their goods reduced to ashes.

He said Shimona lost goods worth K90,000, while Steven Shimona, aged 29, also of GR Compound, lost goods worth K30,000 while Elizabeth Mwansa, aged 27, lost goods worth K25,000 in the inferno.

Police, working with ZESCO staff, rushed to the scene and found the makeshift shops ablaze and ZESCO immediately disconnected illegal power connections supplying electricity to the shops from a nearby source.

“The Police, with the help of members of the public, managed to extinguish the fire, but the goods had already been destroyed,” said Mr Siwale.

He added that a man identified as Donnie Chakalika, aged 39, of GR Compound, was interviewed by both Police and ZESCO officials and confirmed that the three shops had been tapping electricity illegally from his shop.

Mr Siwale said the cause of the fire remains unknown, but investigations are ongoing and an inquiry file has since been opened.