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A 40-year-old farmer of Mufulira has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Ndola High Court for murdering his former wife.
The offence is contrary to Section 200 Cap 87 of the Penal Code of the Laws of Zambia
Ndola High Court judge Petronella Ngulube on Tuesday sentenced Convent Lwiji of Yuyu Farms to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of the offence.
Judge Ngulube said she was convinced that it was Lwiji who caused the death of Maria Sosala by inflicting pain on her when she went to see her children from his house.
In passing the sentence, Judge Ngulube said Lwiji had deprived the children of their mother and that the conviction of murder with extenuating circumstances was very serious.
“I am satisfied that the prosecution team has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and I convict you of murder as charged. I therefore sentence you to life imprisonment,” Judge Ngulube said.
Judge Ngulube granted Lwiji leave to appeal to the Supreme Court within 14 days if he was not happy with the judgement.
Particulars of the offence were that on dates unknown but between February 22 and March 26, 2013 in Mufulira, Lwiji did murder Ms Sosala.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Kelvin Muzenga from Legal Aid Board pleaded with the court for leniency saying Lwiji was the sole breadwinner of his family and was a single parent with nine children under his care.
Mr Muzenga said Lwiji was remorseful for his actions and that he had learnt during the time of his incarceration that resorting to crime did not pay.
Facts before court were that on the fateful day, Ms Sosala in the company of her sister went to look for her children at Lwiji’s house.
When she arrived, Lwiji asked her to accompany him to the field but she never returned home.
Upon realising that Ms Sosala had not returned home after one day, her sister went to look for the deceased and found blood trails to the murder scene where Ms Sosala’s body was found.
When asked about where Ms Sosala was, Lwiji did not give a satisfactory answer and was arrested by the police.
