08 February 2012 :

In Zambia, the Supreme Court set aside a 30-year- jail sentence that was slapped on two Lusaka residents and replaced it with a death penalty for murdering a 16 year-old girl.
This was after Bonasi Mwandila, 25, and Sam Sakala, 23, who were each charged with two counts of aggravated robbery and murder appealed against the 30 years sentence given to them by the high court.
Judge Munyinda Wanki told Mwandila and Sakala that he allowed their appeal because the High Court erred in law and in fact when it gave them the 30 years sentence in offences which should have carried a mandatory death penalty.
"The high court gave both of you 30 years imprisonment with hard labour which you were not pleased with and appealed. In light of this, your appeal is allowed. The 30 years sentence is hereby set aside but in its place, the appellants are hereby sentenced to death in each of the two counts," Mr Wanki said.
Sakala between 2007 and 2009 in Lusaka used a knife, a grievous weapon to murder the girl after they went to her parents’ house in Lusaka’s Avondale Township to steal.
This was after the duo broke into the house where they stole property but they were later caught selling the same items to unsuspecting customers.
Sakala is believed to be a former gardener of the girl’s parents and had an idea that they used to keep money in the house.
A postmortem conducted on the girl showed that the girl died from multiple knife wounds. A knife which was used in the gruesome murder was also found near the deceased’s body.
Sakala denied having participated in murdering the girl but said he only helped Mwandila in selling the property and admitted to sharing the proceeds of the sale equally.