— Mongu resident caged for eight years for Manslaughter

Mongu resident  caged  for eight years for Manslaughter

 

Mansa, February 11, 2015,   ZANIS —- The High Court sitting in Mansa has sentenced a 37 year old man of Milenge District to eight years imprisonment with hard labour for Manslaughter contrary to section 199 cap 87 of the laws of Zambia.

 

Before Judge Mubanga Kondolo was Dominic Kunda of John Nkumba Village in Chief Sonkontwe’s Chiefdom  who unlawfully caused the death of his cousin Frank Mutumwa 31 of Mugaiwa Village by stabbing him in the chest with a screw driver.

 

Particulars of the offence are that, on 16 November, 2013 at around 19:00 hours, Mutumwa went to Kunda’s house in John Nkumba’s village asking for food to eat.

 

Later, food was prepared by Kunda’s wife but Mutumwa refused to eat it which angered Kunda and a fight ensued between them where he stabbed his cousin with a screw driver and fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

Judge Kondolo convicted Kunda upon admission of guilt.

 

 

In mitigation, Senior Legal Aid Lawyer Humphrey Mweemba pleaded with the court that the accused is a first offender and that he was remorseful over his actions which led to his cousin losing his life.

 

He said Kunda had learnt his lessons whilst in prison and asks the court to give him a second chance in life to be a productive member of society.

 

But in passing the sentence, Judge Kondolo said he took into consideration his mitigation that he was the first offender and is entitled to leniency but the crime he committed is aggravated going by the instruments he used to commit the act.

 

He said he was even lucky that the state decide to reduce the case from murder to manslaughter.
He then sentenced Dominic Kunda to eight years imprisonment with hard labour with effect from the date of incarceration.