Woman relives 7 family members murder
By JERRY MUNTHALIA 38-YEAR-OLD woman of Loko village in Serenje yesterday testified how seven members of her family were burnt to death in an inferno at a house in Ndola’s Masala cultural village after her former husband allegedly threatened that she would cry for the rest of her life.
This is in a case in which Haggai Kunda Kalokoni, 38, of house number 4045 Kabushi township, is charged with seven counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
Particulars of the offence are that on August 8, 2009, Kalokoni murdered Judith Mulimba, Eda Malambo, Mavis Malambo, Maggie Malambo, Gloria Malambo, Isata Nkandu and Emmanuel Sichilongo.
Testifying before judge Munalula Lisimba in the Ndola High Court yesterday, Grace Changwe, a peasant farmer, said on August 8, 2009, at about 19:00 hours while at the house of her sister only identified as Judith, Kalokoni demanded that he gets his child, Blessford Kunda.
“I refused to give him the child because it was dark and I advised him to get the child in the morning. He started crying that I can’t stop him from getting the child.
He told me that since I made him cry, I will cry with what he will do to me and that I will never stop crying for the rest of my life,” Ms Changwe said.
She told the court that she asked Kalokoni what he was still waiting for since it was dark and that she advised him to leave.
“That is when Haggai said no one will remain at the cultural village and in the morning people will say there were people here,” Ms Changwe said.
She testified that the 12 people who were at the house only slept after Kalokoni left, but that her sister, only identified as Dorcas, awakened her two hours later at about 23:00 hours to tell her that there was a fire.
“The fire was coming from the other room where my younger sister was sleeping. That is when I, Dorcas, Kelvin, Blessford and Gift ran out of the house but when we came out, we found that our friends had not come out, they were burnt to death right there in the house,” Ms Changwe said.
During cross-examination by senior legal aid counsel Kelvin Muzenga, Changwe said she personally does not like Kalokoni because he used to beat her and ill-treat her when they were married.
Ms Changwe also said she does not know if someone in the other room where her sister and six other people were sleeping lit a match or candle, but that the fire started from there. The trial continues.
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