Thugs rape and kill pregnant woman

A WOMAN carrying an eight-month pregnancy has been raped and strangled in Katete, Eastern Province.
Unknown people raped and murdered the heavily pregnant woman in the early hours of Sunday.
Eastern Province Police Commissioner Grace Chipalila confirmed the murder of Eneless Sakala, 29, of Katete’s Ibex Township.
Ms Sakala’s body was found naked with deep cuts on the forehead and marks on her neck. She also had bruises on her private parts.
The woman could have gone out on Saturday night before she met her gruesome fate.

Ms Chipalila said Ms Sakala’s attackers could have pounced on her in a different area but later dumped her naked body near Ibex Township, where she resided.
“This woman died from strangulation,” Ms Chipalila said. The body was discovered without any clothes near Katete Stores and the mosque.
Ms Chipalila said police had instituted investigations to establish who the attackers were. Zambia National Women’s Lobby (ZNWL) said it was saddened by the raping and killing of the woman and urged the police to quickly catch the criminals.

ZNWL executive director Juliet Kaira-Chibuta was dismayed by the continuous acts of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country.
“While the Government and other stakeholders continue to act against such negative vices, statistics indicate that the levels of GBV are not decreasing,” Ms Chibuta-Kaira said.
ZNWL is working with men and boys in the community to sensitise them on the ills of GBV through the men and boys’ network that seeks to change men’s perception of women and create a movement of men that are sensitised and could speak against GBV.

Meanwhile, police in Chipata District rounded up 21 suspected prostitutes in an operation carried out on Friday night.
Police rounded up the women who paraded themselves on different streets of Chipata at night.
This follows another incident in which a Malawian woman was found gruesomely murdered at a lodge in Chipata.
Some of those arrested were released upon paying admission of guilt fines for idle and disorderly charges. Ms Chipalila said that police would continue conducting such operations.

Times of Zambia