Chipolopolo Victory Celebrations leave two dead in Chimwemwe

ENRAGED residents in Kitwe on Saturday, in what has now become a norm, set ablaze a Toyota Corolla after it ploughed through a group of pedestrians instantly killing two of them including an eight-year-old girl.
The accident happened in Chimwemwe Township in the aftermath of the Zambia soccer team victory against Lesotho as people took to the streets to celebrate the triumph.
Kitwe Police confirmed the accident that happened in Kamwanya area along Ebert Stanley Road around 19:00 hours and left the girl identified as Chanda Chansa of House Number 9253 dead along with another unidentified middle-aged man.
A Times crew that visited the scene of the accident yesterday found the Toyota Corolla registration number ACR 4026 reduced to a shell.
Police said the vehicle was being driven by a youth who just got it from home without permission.
In celebrating Zambia’s victory, the youth jumped into the vehicle and drove around in frenzy in the neighbourhood like other motorists were doing.
“Unfortunately, the young man has no driver’s licence and is not experienced and so while driving, he failed to control the vehicle and ended up careering off the road and plunged into six pedestrians among them an eight-year-old girl who died on the spot,” a police source said.
Aaron Chileshe, who lives near the spot of the accident said he was at home around 19:00 hours when suddenly he heard a bang.
Mr Chileshe said when he rushed to check what had happened, he found that a vehicle had swept six pedestrians into a wall fence which collapsed on them.
“We quickly retrieved the victims who, among them was, the eight-year-old girl who died on the spot,” Mr Chileshe said.
He said it was then that irate members of the community mobilised and pushed the vehicle to the other side of the road before setting it ablaze.
He said police came before the vehicle was set ablaze but were driven away by the stone throwing residents who only wanted to see ‘instance justice’ administered.