A 39-year old police officer has told the Kitwe High Court how the body of a woman was found in the Chichele Forest along the Kitwe –Ndola dual carriageway after her sons allegedly murdered her.
Joseph Kabamba was testifying in the trial of two brothers accused of murdering their mother Ethel Gondwe on April 26, 2014.
The matter was before Kitwe High Court judge Chilombo Phiri on Tuesday.
This is in a case in which Emmanuel Katongo Junior, 22, and his 17-year- old younger brother, of Mukuba-Natwange township in Kitwe, are charged with murdering Ms Gondwe and causing grievous harm to their father Emmanuel Katongo Senior.
Mr Kabamba testified that on the fateful morning, he received a phone call from Wusakile Police Station that there was a crime scene that required processing.
He told the court that he and his colleagues went to Mr Katongo’s house and observed that there was blood on the kitchen walls and the floor.
Mr Kabamba said around 10:00 hours, he went to the hospital to interview Mr Katongo and whilst there, his younger son went to see him.
He told the court that he physically checked the boy’s face and saw some suspected human blood in his ear nodes and on the neck.
The court heard that the boy never said anything when Mr Kabamba asked him why he had blood stains.
Mr Kabamba told the court that he searched the boy and found him with a Samsung cellphone which his relatives said belonged to Ms Gondwe.
He said the boy told police officers that Emmanuel had stabbed their father and abducted Ms Gondwe.
Mr Kabamba said the boy later changed his statement and told police officers that he did not want to waste their time.
He said the boy led them to the place where he and Emmanuel had dumped Ms Gondwe’s body.
Mr Kabamba narrated that around 20:00 hours on the same day, he received a call that Emmanuel had been apprehended in Mufulira and was later brought to Kitwe.
The court heard that the next day, police were led by the two suspects to Chichele Forest along the Kitwe-Ndola dual carriageway and it took them over four hours to find the body.
Mr Kabamba explained that the body was found half naked with six deep cuts on the head.
The body was later taken to Kitwe Central Hospital mortuary and the two brothers were detained to help police with investigations.
Trial in the case continues.
-ZANIS.