Two morticians and a general worker accused of cutting off corpse’s manhood

It is alleged that the trio, on November 27, 2012, with knowledge that the feelings of the people are likely to be injured, offered an indignity act to a human corpse of Mervin Kaufman by cutting off his penis.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charge.
But at the close of the prosecution’s case on Friday, Senior Resident Magistrate Daniel Musonda observed that the State had established a prima facie case against the three accused persons to
warrant them being put on their defence.
Mr Musonda therefore put them on their defence.
In their defence which they gave on oath, the accused persons denied cutting off Mr Kaufman’s manhood.
They told the court that they received Mr Kaufman’s body from Chingola where he died and prepared it at St Anne morgue in Kitwe.
They said all of Mr Kaufman’s body parts were intact up to the time they handed over the body to the family members for body viewing.
The trio told the court that Mr Kaufman’s body was later conveyed to Kabwe for burial and that they did not accompany it there.
They said other people from St Anne were tasked with driving the body to Kabwe.
Under cross examination by Second District Prosecutions Officer Friday Siame, the three accused persons maintained that Mr Kaufman’s body was intact when they handed it over to the family for viewing.
When reminded that they were the last people to work on the body and that when it was exhumed, the penis was missing, the trio denied any knowledge as to what may have happened to the deceased’s manhood.
They denied any involvement in cutting off any body part from the deceased’s body.
Mr Musonda adjourned the matter to July 30 for judgement.

Zambia Daily Mail