By Mast Reporter
The Lusaka High Court’s Judge Mwape Bowa has sentenced Nalukui Akafekwa to life imprisonment for the murder of 10-year-old Chikondi Banda, ruling that the state had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Akafekwa, a neighbor of the deceased from Garden Chilulu compound, abducted the boy after school on March 16, 2023, intending to demand a K12, 000 ransom from his family.
However, after failing to secure the money, he killed the child by striking him on the head with a stone and leaving his body in a maize field behind Emmadsdale Police Post.
The decomposed body was discovered six days later, on *March 21, 2023, with the head wrapped in a black plastic bag.
Delivering judgment, Judge Bowa found that the accused was the last person seen with the deceased and dismissed his alibi* that he was visiting his sick child, ruling that the evidence presented overwhelmingly pointed to his guilt.
“I am satisfied that it was the accused who took the child, and the evidence places him with the deceased on the night of March 16, 2023. The state has demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that the accused caused the fatal blow,” Judge Bowa stated.
He emphasized that the forensic evidence, video footage* from Great North Road, and eyewitness accounts, including that of a child witness, proved that Akafekwa was with the deceased on the night of the murder.
“The video evidence places the accused with the deceased. His own father, a truthful witness, confirmed that it was him in the footage. Further, forensic analysis traced ransom demands to a mobile number linked to the accused,” the judge added.
The court also dismissed Akafekwa’s claims of being tortured into confessing, citing his recorded statement in which he voluntarily demonstrated how he lured the child and later killed him.
“The accused spoke of how he lured the boy, his sense of panic, and the fact that he struck him with a stone. “
The judge noted that the motive behind the crime was purely financial, making the act even more disturbing.
“It is clear that the accused’s intention was to extort money from the family. However, his failure to do so led to a senseless killing of an innocent child who had placed his trust in him,” he stated.
Judge Bowa ruled that the only permissible sentence under the law was life imprisonment and accordingly sentenced Akafekwa to life in prison with effect from the date of his arrest.
