Caleb Chanda, 26 and Vincent Chileshe 28, were charged with aggravated robbery and murder of Mr Sinkala whom they hacked with a machete shortly after he was involved in a road traffic accident on Mufulira road.

When the matter came up for judgment, Judge Yvonne Chembe sentenced Chanda and Chileshe to 20 years for aggravated robbery and further slapped them with a death penalty after the State proved the murder case beyond reasonable doubt.

Judge Chembe described the action by the two as evil and sad.

“This case evokes a lot of sadness, the convicts are youths of no fixed aboard who were earning a living by doing odd jobs. The deceased was a family man who had a misfortune of a road traffic accident, the damage from the vehicle appears to be minor. I am sure he was happy to see the convicts approach and may have believed they would render help as Zambians are known to be.

However the accused had evil intentions. They made a choice to kill him. They took turns to hack him with a machete until he died, and robbed him. I find it hard to believe that such evil people live in our country,” judge Chembe said.

She further noted that throughout trial, Chanda and Chileshe did not show any remorse for their action.

“I cannot believe these people are a product of our society, it is therefore my duty to protect society from them. I accordingly sentence the accused to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour in count one and in count two, having found no extenuating circumstances, I sentence the accused to death. They shall hang by the neck until they are dead,” she said.

During trial, a police officer who was at the crime scene narrated that he suspected foul play after noticing the injuries Sinkala sustained.

Boniface Nyirenda said Sinkala’s body was found with deep cuts on his back, face, chest and hands.

Meanwhile, a woman where Chanda and Chileshe were doing piece works narrated that on the material day, Chanda gave her a bag containing a pair of snickers, trousers and a T-shirt to keep for him.

Jacqueline Mangango said around 22:00 hours, she received a call from a strange number advising her to throw the bag in a stream near her house as they belonged to a dead person.

Ms Mangango said the following day, police officers went to her place looking for Chanda and Chileshe.

“I told them that they two were not staying at my house but were simply doing piece works at my garden, so I helped officers to find the two men. I led them to a shelter where the two were usually found but we did not find them. But during the day, Caleb came and I managed to call police officers who later arrested him,” she narrated.

Ms Mangango said at the time Chanda was being apprehended, he was putting on clothes which she later learnt belonged to Sinkala.