Three drown in Lukanga swamps

Three people have drowned in two separate incidents in the Lukanga swamps in Kapiri Mposhi district.

In the latest incident, a man aged over fifty years drowned yesterday  as he went fishing after allegedly drinking tujilijili.

The incident comes barely a week after two other men also drowned in the swamps  as they went fishing despite the ban on fishing still being  in force.

ZANIS reports that in the recent incident the victim identified as Cosmos Mwila of Lyombe village in Senior Chief Chipepo went to the swamps to catch fish around 17:00 hours where he drowned in the process.

Headman Champanga of Lyombe village confirmed the incident to ZANIS in Kapiri Mposhi today.

But when contacted for a comment  Central Province Police Commissioner Standwell Lungu said his office had not received a report concerning the matter.

Headman Champanga said Mwila’s body was retrieved and buried in Lyombe village today.

Headman Champanga said Mwila could have been drunk when he drowned because a bottle of tujilijili was found in one of his pockets.

The Headman also explained that  in the earlier incident two men drowned in Lukanga swamps as they went fishing on 12 February.

He named one of the men whose body had not been retrieved to date as Alex Kachusha Nkaka while the other victim had not been identified but that his body was found and had since been buried in Ngwena village .

Headman Champanga said the search for Nkaka’s body by villagers around the place where the other body was found had been discontinued .

Meanwhile,  village headman Champanga appealed to his colleagues in the area to educate their subjects on the need to observe the fish ban.

Headman Champanga also warned fishermen in the area against getting into the water drunk saying many lives would be lost if caution was not observed.