LUSAKA-(MaraviPost)-Three officers from the Zambia National Service (ZNS) have been sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour for the murder of a 46-year-old woman in southern Zambia.
Livingstone High Court Judge Catherine Lombe delivered the verdict this week, finding, Douglas Kanenga, 22, Trust Miyoba, 24, and Brian Hamwiinde, 30, guilty of killing Stella Mwanza near the exit gate of a ZNS milling plant in Monze in December 2025.
In sentencing, Justice Lombe cited the seriousness of the crime and imposed the maximum penalty under Zambian law. The three had pleaded not guilty.
According to court evidence and police testimony, six ZNS officers were on patrol around 00:30 on December 28 when they spotted a vehicle approaching the plant’s exit gate.
The car stopped, turned off its lights, and then sped off as the officers approached, prompting them to open fire.
The white Toyota Corolla, registration ABT 7840, was later found abandoned about one kilometre away.
Inside, officers discovered Mwanza’s body in the back seat with gunshot wounds to the head, back, and under the right armpit.
The court heard that Mwanza had left her home in Monze the previous evening to attend a funeral. Her husband, Sylvester Salale, a chief inspector at Monze Correctional Facility, was among eight prosecution witnesses.
The National Prosecution Authority welcomed the judgment, saying it “serves as a reminder of the solemn responsibility borne by the justice system in holding accountable those found responsible for serious offences.”
The case has drawn attention to the use of force by security personnel in Zambia and the accountability of state officers.
Leave a Reply