Maravi

Cops disperse instant justice mob using stones

Cops disperse instant justice mob using stones
By Fridah Nkonde
Thu 19 July 2012, 11:50 CAT

POLICE officers in Lusaka yesterday used stones to disperse an instant justice mob in Kanyama that wanted to mete out punishment on a murder suspect. Police in full riot gear surrounded Kanyama police station to prevent residents from stoning the police station and harming the detained murder suspect.

Police sources said the suspect, Namangolwa Ndeleli, in his early 20s, was found loitering on Tuesday night around 01:00 hours in a place where people were being murdered.

"What has been happening in Kanyama is very bad. The issue of people being murdered has been happening almost on a daily basis and the victims have been women and children. Some people have been attacking and killing women and children so when the situation worsened, police started the patrol programme.

And on Tuesday night, this boy who has been apprehended was found loitering around an area where people are usually killed and he was apprehended," police sources said.

The sources said the residents believed the suspect was among those behind the killings but that as far as police were concerned, Namangolwa was still innocent.

More drama unfolded when police officers decided to take Namangolwa to Lusaka Central police station.

When residents saw police officers dragging the murder suspect into a Toyota Corolla, they started throwing stones at the police and police officers retaliated by throwing back the stones at the residents.

The residents stoned everyone they saw standing at the police post.
Police in riot gear did not have any option but to continue throwing stones back and mock chargeat the mob.
The officers who had come to fetch the suspect later drove off under heavy police escort after about a 20 minute standoff.

Meanwhile, sources within the police say officers want to question an uncle of the late NIPA student Ruth Mbandu, who was brutally murdered in Lusaka.
Sources said one of the named uncles was the last person to have been with Ruth before she was killed and police wanted to question him.

Labels: POLICE, POLICE BRUTALITY

posted by MrK @ 3:48 PM