ZAMBIA: CALL BOY TO HANG FOR KILLING MINI-BUS DRIVER OVER K1

June 9, 2019:

A call-boy who hit a mini-bus driver with a brick in rage after he refused to give him 1 kwacha loading fee was condemned to death on 4 June 2019 by the Supreme Court.
Seating in Ndola, Supreme Court judges Elizabeth Muyovwe, Jones Chinyama and Gregory Phiri upheld the murder conviction against Sydney Kasweka of John Laing in Lusaka.
The High Court convicted him of a murder charge after establishing that he was behind the death of Nickson Masasa, a bus driver.
Evidence is that on May 8, 2013, Masasa picked up two female passengers at a bus station within Kanyama Township and agreed to drop them off at Kanyama Clinic at no cost.
The court heard that before they proceeded, Kasweka arrived and demanded to be given K1 loading fee.
But Mr Masasa informed Kasweka that he would not charge the two women since they were going to the clinic, an explanation which incensed Kasweka, who attacked the conductor, who was forced to flee.
Kasweka then turned to Mr Masasa and started insulting him. He then hit Mr Masasa with a brick on his head, an impact which led to him losing consciousness and the bus careering off the road and hitting into a house and toilet. Mr Masasa was rushed to the University Teaching Hospital, where he died of serious injuries two days later.