AN investigations officer has narrated to the Kitwe High Court how he received a docket of murder for investigation and he later learnt that four people of the same family were attacked, of which one was allegedly raped and another murdered.

Mavuto Nkhata, who was testifying in a case where Chingola-based small scale miner Kabaso Mulenga popularly known as SPAX is jointly charged with five others for murder, attempted murder and rape, further told the court that Mulenga helped the police to bring the other suspects who were his workers, to book.

He said it wasn’t the first time for Mulenga to come to police’s assistance whenever they needed help to bring wrong doers to book.

And another police officer testified that he found the woman who was allegedly raped and assaulted lying in a hopeless manner and bleeding from the private parts and head.

Meanwhile, the rape victim painfully told the court that she had remained with only two children after the murder of her third.

This is a matter in which Mulenga, Boyd Kamizhi, 24, McLean Kamizhi, 22, Gilbert Zimba, 22, Syvio Kwibisa, 22 and Jimmy Bwembya, 23 are charged with murder and attempted murder,

The other five accused persons, excluding Mulenga, are also charged with rape.

In count one, it is alleged that Boyd, McLean, Gilbert, Syvio, Jimmy and Mulenga between January 22 and 23, 2019, in Chingola, jointly and whilst acting together, murdered Emmanuel Mapunda.

It is also alleged that the accused person between the same dates, attempted to murder Billy Maponda and Stanley Maponda.

The accused are further alleged to have attempted to murder and had carnal knowledge of a woman without her consent.

The six had pleaded not guilty to the charges before Kitwe High Court Judge Abha Patel.

Testifying in the matter, the rape victim told the court that on January 22, 2019, her husband, her children and herself were seated in the house watching television.

She said she informed her husband and children that she was going to sleep as one of her children who was on her lap, had slept.

“That is how I proceeded to go to bed and sleep. I left my husband and two children in the sitting room, watching a movie,” the woman said.

She said she suddenly woke up, only to find a person seated on her stomach and strangling her.

The woman said when she opened her eyes, she saw a young man who had a long face, adding that when she turned towards the door leading to the bedroom, there was another young short man, holding something that appeared like a torch and pointing where she was sleeping with her husband and their third born child.

She added that earlier, she had not noticed when her husband had joined her in bed as she was fast asleep.

The woman said from there, she found herself in an incomplete house, naked.

She said when she checked her other side, she saw the pant which she had earlier worn, laying on the grass.

The woman said she collapsed after seeing that and when she woke up later, she checked her palms and found that there was an injury and she was bleeding.

She said she was in the hospital from January 23 to 31, 2019.

The woman identified the first accused person, Boyd as the person who sat on her stomach and the third accused, Gilbert as the person who stood at the door way.

Asked by the state prosecutors who were leading her in her testimony on how her children were today, the woman said she had remained with two children as one was deceased, before she broke down.

In cross examination by the defence, the witness said she did not recall who inflicted the injuries on her body.

Asked to read the last indication by the doctor on the medical report, the witness read…”no evidence of rape clinically established”.

Meanwhile, Ronard Mpalo, an inspector by rank stationed at Chiwempala police station in Chingola, said on January 23, 2019 he received a report about a lady in an unfinished building who appeared to have been assaulted.

“I rushed to the scene where I found the same woman lying in a hopeless manner. She had no strength and was covered in a chitenge. When I checked on her body she had a deep cut inside the hands and was bleeding from the private parts and from the head,” he said.

Mpalo said later on, her neighbours took him to her house where he found two male persons lying outside the house along the veranda of the house.

“They both could not talk or move, I later came to know one of them as Stanely Mapunda, who had a swollen forehead and some blood on the head while I came to know the other one as Emmanuel Mapunda (deceased) who was producing white secretions from his mouth,” the witness said.

He said in the house, he found another person, Billy, the owner of the house, lying on the floor and had general body pains and a swollen forehead.

Meanwhile, Nkhata a detective inspector currently stationed at Chingola District CID Headquarters, said on January 24, 2019 he received a docket of murder to investigate, and after perusing learnt that four people of the same family were attacked by unknown people who used unknown types of weapons to inflict injuries on them.

He said after he warned and cautioned the first accused, Boyd, he learnt during the interview of some names connected to some further investigations which he did during investigations of the same matter such as Gilbert Zimba, Syvio Kwibisa and Maclean Kamizhi, the first accused’s young brother.

“After learning that the same three suspects and one, I forgot to mention Jimmy Bwembya, were all workers for Mulenga Kabaso, a Chingola based businessman also known as Spax. Acting on that information, I and other police officers saw it fit to contact Mr Kabaso Mulenga so that he could help the police bring the mentioned suspects to the police for investigations,” Nkhata said.

Asked if it was the said Mulenga before court, the witness said yes before he continued with his testimony.

“After working together with Mr Kabaso Mulenga, the police managed to bring Maclean Kamizhi, Gilbert Zimba and Syvio Kwibisa (other accused persons) to book. These people used to work for him so we thought it wise to ask him for help since he knew them. It was not the first time for Mulenga to come to the assistance of the police where they need help to bring the wrong doers to the police, he has done it several times,” said Nkhata.

Trial continues.