8 COMMANDOS MURDER CIVILIAN
Drunk Special Forces soldiers terrorise, injure Kabwe residents
- The killer soldiers are believed to be part of the recently passed-out 37th Intake of 2024/2025
- Late Siame’s widow Agness Ngai says the family expects justice to prevail in the matter
- The commandos first attacked a plumber who managed to escape before storming a local bar and beating the owner to death.
By Mast Reporter
EIGHT suspected members of the Zambia Army Special Forces commonly known as commandos allegedly beat a civilian to death in Kabwe on Sunday.
Residents report that the drunken soldiers also left several other civilians injured as discipline in the country’s defence forces continues declining.
The rogue young soldiers reportedly went on a rampage after a drinking spree in Makwati Compound on Sunday night assaulting innocent residents and bludgeoning to death a 50-year-old Zambia Air Force (ZAF) civilian of Kabwe base.
They are believed to be part of the recently passed-out 37th Intake of 2024/2025 and are reported to have randomly beat residents leaving a number of them with injuries.
Central Province commissioner of police Charity Munganga confirmed the murder and identified the victim as Jordan Siame, a ZAF civilian and businessman who operated a local drinking spot named Why Not Bar.
“Siame was beaten by unknown Special Forces operators using the handle of a pick. He sustained deep cuts to the forehead and back of the head. He was later pronounced dead at Zambia Air Force Camp Hospital,” Munganga said.
According to some eyewitnesses, the rampage began around 19:00 hours when the group reportedly attacked 22-year-old plumber Nerves Chiyaya near Kazimule Bar, beating him with a golf stick and fists before he managed to escape with the help of bystanders.
One eyewitness who asked not to be identified for fear of being victimised said the drunken gang later stormed Why Not Bar owned by Siame, harassing patrons, banging doors and hurling insults at them.
“In an effort to calm the situation, Siame stepped outside but was struck on the forehead with a stick by one of the commandos. Another commando delivered another blow to Siame’s head using a pick handle and he became unconscious,” the witness said.
Members of the public rushed the unconscious Siame to the police station and later to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
Police said a case docket had been opened but no arrests had been made yet as residents fear Siame’s cold-blooded murder may be covered up or spun as a brawl to shield the commandos.
And speaking in an interview with The Mast at the funeral house number KN Block 5 in Kamushanga Compound yesterday, the late Siame’s widow Agness Ngai said the family expected justice to prevail in the matter.
“Let the killers of our breadwinner, regardless of their ranks in society, be arrested and taken to court in the interest of justice. We are broken as a family and can’t imagine what the future will be like without him,” she cried as she was consoled by her son Muchuzi.
This latest violence involving military personnel, which has claimed a civilian life, comes on the heels of another report two weeks ago that two female police officers in Kabwe were allegedly assaulted by three commandos raising public alarm about falling standards of discipline among newly deployed troops.
The Mast is closely following the case.
𝔼𝔻𝕀𝕋𝕆ℝ’𝕊 ℕ𝕆𝕋𝔼: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕣𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪
