Kitwe High Court Finds Tokota Boys With Case To Answer

Mwamba Siame, also known as Mayweather,
 is a top commander of the Tokota Boys
 gang and has been in hiding since May 2018

By Paul Shalala

The Kitwe High Court has found 18 out of the 19 suspected members of the Tokota Boys gang with a case to answer.

This is in a case where the gang members are jointly charged on three separate charges.

The charges are acts intended to cause grivious harm, unlawful wounding or poisoning and kidnapping and abduction.

The 19 Tokota Boys were arrested in May this year after a video in which they were assaulting a 17 year old teenager of Mulenga Compound went viral on social media.

The assault on the boy, in which he was stoned, beaten with a stick and forced to eat his own faeces, was allegedly committed on 30 April this year.

Passing ruling on Monday, Kitwe High Court Judge-In-Charge Timothy Katanekwa said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that 18 of the 19 suspects committed the offences.

He said the state found a prima facie case in the matter and he has since found them with a case to answer and put them on their defence.

"From the evidence adduced by the state, any reasonable tribunal can convict the 18 suspects," said Justice Katanekwa.

At this stage, the 18 Tokota Boys have three options of defending themselves in court:

They can choose to be silent, they can give evidence on oath, or they can elect not to give evidence on oath.

And Justice Katanekwa has acquitted the 19^th suspected member of the Tokota Boys gang who was not at the scene the day the assault of the teenager happened.

In acquitting Lazarous Zulu, Justice Katanekwa said the victim clearly stated that the suspect was not at the scene and the identification parade conducted by the Police cannot be relied upon.

Before the judge could even finish his ruling, Lazarous was already on his way out of the courtroom in excitement.

Meanwhile, a medical examination has disclosed that one of the two suspected Tokota Boys who contested their age is a minor.

According to results of a medical examination read in court, one of the boys is aged between 13 and 14 and the other is either 18 years or above.

However, Justice Katanekwa has decided to treat both suspects as juveniles after the defence applied that the production of birth records by the mother of the boy considered 18 years be also treated as a minor.

Meanwhile, all the 18 Tokota Boys who were put on their defence have opted to testify under oath.

Legal Aid lawyer Mwendalubi Kapukutula informed the court that the suspects will call witnesses.

The first of the suspects to testify yesterday was Limbikani Phiri who is suspected to have sold out the 17 year old teenager before he was assaulted.

Limbikani told the Kitwe High Court that the victim was beaten by Mwamba Siame popularly known as Mayweather for allegedly belonging to The Hundreds gang which is also called Ba Zale.

In his testimony before court a month ago, the victim told the court that his friend Limbikani had sold him off to the Tokota Boys.

Putting up his defence, Limbikani said the victim told him that he had been beaten by Mayweather for allegedly being a member of a rival gang.

He said that on 30 April this year, he was among many youths from Mulenga and Ndeke Compounds who went to do piece works at Mindolo North.

He explained that they were hired by Mayweather to go and dig for low grade copper and malachite but when they reached there, Mayweather beat up the victim with a huge stick.

Limbikani however denied personally watching the teenager being beaten as he claims to have gone to collect sacks of malachite during the assault.

He revealed that Mayweather deals in minerals and supplies low grade copper and malachite to trucks which ferry the minerals every day after his workers finish loading them into sacks.

Mayweather is on the run and was not arrested in May this year when Police conducted a round-up of gangs across Kitwe.

And in cross examination led by State Advocate Jinjimali Mpopwe-Sililo, Limbikani denied ever seeing the victim naked or being fed faeces.

But when reminded by Ms Mpopwe-Sililo that he watched a video in court where the victim was shown naked, imbikani maintained that he never saw him naked on the material day.

The second suspect to put up his defence was a juvenile who we will not name for ethical reasons.

The juvenile gave similar testimony with Limbikani though he made a few points which were contrally, leading the state to challenge on who was lying between him and Limbikani.

The case has been adjourned to this afternoon for continued defence.

Tokota Boys Gang Members Finally Appear In The High Court

Tokota Boys leaving the Kitwe High Court after taking
plea yesterday. -Picture by Mushota Mpundu 

By Paul Shalala

The 19 suspected Tokota Boys this morning appeared for the first time in the Kitwe High Court.

Since they were arrested in May this year, the youths had been appearing before the Kitwe Magistrates Court for mention as they awaited for committal to the High Court by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The 19, who are mostly bus drivers, bus conductors, shop keepers and unemployed youths, appeared before Judge Timothy Katanekwa for plea.

The youths are jointly charged in three separate counts which could not be tried at the Magistrates Court following their arrest three months ago.

The Tokota Boys, some of whom were smartly dressed in suits and ties, pleaded not guilty to Acts Intended to Cause Grievious Harm, Unlawful wounding or Poisoning and Kidnapping or abduction.

The three charges rose from a a video where the gang members were seen beating a 16 year old boy of Mulenga Compound who they forced to eat his own faeces.

The matter has been adjourned to Wednesday this week for possible commencement of trial.

In this case, the State is being represented by four state advocates Jinjimali Mpopwe Sililo, Mwangala Mwala, Dean Akalemwa and they are led by Acting Chief State Advocate Mercy Lungu.

The suspected Tokota Boys are being represented by only two lawyers from the Legal Aid Board Mwendalubi Kapukutula and Maria Nzala.

Meanwhile, Judge Katanekwa has set tomorrow as the date for an inquiry to ascertain whether one of the Tokota Boys gang members is 20 years old as claimed by the state.

This follows an application by the suspect who told the court, through his lawyers, that he is a minor.

Their appearance in the Kitwe High Court is separate from three other cases some of the 19 suspected Tokota Boys gang members are facing in the Kitwe Magistrates Court which are currently on trial stage.

And three men who are charged with causing death by dangerous driving have pleaded guilty before the Kitwe High Court.

The three, Kalonga Mtolo, Charles Mumbelunga, and Christopher Milandu, who appeared separately, are from Kitwe, Chambeshi and Chingola and their cases have been adjourned to Thursday this week for presentation of facts.

Meanwhile, in the Kitwe Magistrates Court, a 24 year old alleged Pastor has pleaded not guilty to one count of Defilement.

Alick Simbeye of Buchi Compound appeared in court this morning charged with Defilement of a child under the age of 16 contrally to section 16 chapter 138 of the Laws of Zambia.

When he appeared for plea before Kitwe Principal Magistrate Chongo Musonda, Mr Simbeye identified himself as a businessman as opposed to what he is known for as a Pastor.

The case has been adjourned to 20 August and the suspect has since been granted a 10 thousand Kwacha cash bail with two traceable surities.

Facts before the court are that Mr Simbeye of Buchi Compound had carnal knowledge of the girl in the early hours of 25 July this year.

The case has been adjourned to 20 August and the suspect has since been granted a 10 thousand Kwacha cash bail with two traceable surities.

Magistrate Musonda said the two surities should also be bonded for 10 thousand Kwacha each.

Mr Simbeye has since been remanded in custody as bail conditions are being sorted out.

Alleged Tokota Boys Drug Supplier Gets Six Months For Marijuana

By Paul Shalala

Bright Kafula

For the second time within two months, a suspected drug dealer has been given two different sentences in two different courts for the same crime.

28 year old Bright Kafula of Kitwe’s Kwacha Compound was arrested on 22 May, 2018 with 51 rolls of marijuana which the Police weighed and found to be 6.4 kilograms.

Kafula, who is popularly known as Kamasu, is believed to be the main supplier of drugs to criminal gangs like the Tokota Boys, the 90 Niggas and the Sons of the Devil gangs which have wrecked havoc in Kitwe, a major mining town and Zambia’s second largest city.

Over 60 gangs members are before various courts appearing for several cases such as rape, assault, unlawful wounding, idle and disorderly conduct, among other charges.

And Kafula is suspected to be the main supplier of drugs to these gangs which are mainly composed of teenagers and beat Kitwe residents at night in neighbourhoods where they have "shared" territory. 

Few days after being arrested, Kafula was taken to the Kitwe Magistrate’s Court.

Police handed over the 6.4 KGs of the marijuana to the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) which prosecutes such cases.

The bag containing 51 rolls of marijuana
which Police officers found in Kafula's house

However, State Prosecutors at the court filed an affidavit which charged Kafula with trafficking 6.4 grams of marijuana instead of the 6.4 KGs Police found him with.

During trial, the suspect admitted having trafficked the drugs and pleaded for leniency.

On 30 May, Kitwe Magistrate Dominic Lesa found Kafula guilty and sentenced him to two months imprisonment but he suspended the sentence for 24 months.

This judgement was based on the 6.4 grams.

This judgement shocked Police officers who had arrested Kafula with the 6.4 KGs marijuana which he had hidden at home in a bag popularly known as Ukwa bag.

But when Copperbelt Police Commissioner Charity Katanga heard about the judgement, she  complained that the evidence Police collected was not what was presented in court.

Ms Katanga told this blogger in an intyerview at the time that Police were shocked and disappointed that the 51 rolls of marijuana which was found in Kafula’s house weighed 6.4 kilograms and not what Prosecutors presented in court.

"This is so disappointing. We catch a criminal with drugs and go and reduce the evidence in court. We are shocked at the way this case has been handled. We are appealing this case so that the High Court can review it and see if the suspect can be tried for the real crime he was arrested for," said an angry sounding Katanga.

A Ministry of Health analyst confirms 
receiving 6.4 KGs

The audio of her disappointment can be heard in this television report this blogger did for Zambia's state broadcaster TV1 on 31 May 2018.

Later, the National Prosecution Authority appealed the case to the Kitwe High Court so that Kafula can be tried again.

But at the end of the judicial review, the Kitwe High Court quashed the  24 months suspended sentence slapped by the Kitwe Magistrates’ Court on Kafula and replaced it with a six months jail term with hard labour.

Kitwe High Court Judge Timothy Katanekwa said the decision by the Kitwe Magistrates Court to suspend a sentence for someone who accepted trafficking in drugs shocked him and defeats the purpose of the court.

Passing judgement, Justice  Katanekwa said he arrived at the judgement considering the 6. 4 grams which he was charged with and the fact that Kafula had accepted the charge and was a first offender.

However, when the case went before High Court Judge, State Prosecutors pressed for the review on the charge Kafula was facing so that it can reflect the 6.4 KGs of marijuana instead of the 6.4 grams.

The court later called for specialists to analyse the drugs which were before court.

But the High Court still did not find grounds to admit the argument by the state to admit the 6.4 KGs.

This is despite the fact that Sumbukeni Kowa, an analyst from the Ministry of Health confirmed receiving 6.4 kilograms of marijuana which the DEC provided to him for analysis as part of evidence in court.

But in his judgement, Justice Katanekwa says the argument that Kafula was found with 6.4 KGs of marijuana does not stand because the affidavit filed by Kowa cannot be relied upon.

Judge Katanekwa's judgement

Justice Katanekwa says the analyst did not weigh the drugs as expected and he has decided to base his judgement on the 6.4 grams which the suspect agreed to have trafficked.

It is however unclear whether the National Prosecution Authority will further appeal the Kitwe High Court's judgement to the Supreme Court especially that Kafula has again been sentenced based on a lower amount of drugs than he was found with.

With this six months jail term which is effected from his day of arrest 22 May 2018, it means Kafula will walk out of the Kamfinsa Correctional Facility in Kitwe in November this year.

He is reported to be a close friend of Mwamba Siame, a top "Commander" of the Tokota Boys criminal gang whose 20 members where caught on video assaulting a teenager and forcing him to eat his own faecal matter for belonging to a rival "The Hundreds" gang.

Siame, who is popularly known as Mayweather in the gang, has been on the Police "Most Wanted List" since May 2018 as he is the one who violently beat the teenager with stones and sticks in the video which went viral on social media.