Sunday 16 September 2018

90 Niggas Gang Members Convicted

By Paul Shalala

The Kitwe Magistrate’s Court has convicted 13 suspected members of the notorious 90 Niggas gang for conduct likely to cause the breach of peace.

The 90 Niggas gang is one of the newest teenage gangs in Kitwe which sprung up early this year. 

Passing judgement this morning, Kitwe Magistrate Malota Phiri found the 13 teenage gang members guilty of the offence they were charged with.

The 13 have since been remanded in the Kamfinsa Correctional Facility awaiting sentencing next month.

They are mostly youths from Kitwe’s Bulangililo Compound who are alleged to have blocked roads in Kwacha and Bulangililo compounds on 25 April, thereby disturbing peace.

The juveniles are aged between 13 and 17 are mostly pupils and unemployed youths.

Passing judgement of Friday in a case which took five months, Magistrate Phiri said the 13 guilty were guilty of the offence they were charged with.

Magistrate Phiri could not sentence them because they are juveniles.

They have since been remanded in custody and will appear in court again on 2nd October for Social Welfare Report and possible sentencing.

And in another courtroom, two surities who signed bail for a 24 year old Pastor of Kitwe have been sent to prison for failure to avail him to court this morning.

Pastor Alick Simbeye, who is facing a charge of defilement, has not been appearing in court since he was granted bail last month.

On Friday when the case came up before Principal Resident Magistrate Chongo Musonda, the two surities 53 year old John Kapisa and Peter Muleba struggled to explain the Pastor’s whereabouts.

Mr Kapisa, who is a Pastor in one of the Pentecostal Churches, told the court that they had failed to locate the accused but that he had been communicating with some people and he is within Kitwe.

Magistrate Musonda said she had been too lenient to the surities following the disappearance of the accused.

She later sent the two to prison pending the payment of the bond sum.

The two surities were bonded for 10 thousand kwacha each when they signed bail for Pastor Simbeye.

The case has since been adjourned to 21 September.

Pastor Simbeye is alleged to have had carnal knowledge of a girl below the age of 16 on 25 July on his way from an overnight prayer session at church.

He allegedly defiled the girl at the back of his car while another girl was sleeping in the car.