Court Finds Four Students Answerable in Chayamba School Fire Case

The Kasungu Magistrate’s Court has ruled that four students from Chayamba Secondary School have a case to answer over the torching of the school that occurred on December 1, 2025.

Second Grade Magistrate Samuel Chakudza delivered the ruling, stating that the court was satisfied with evidence presented by both the school authorities and the police, which linked the accused to the incident.

The four students—Daniel Chanju, Abel Pondamali, Nicholas Tchesa and Elvis Lameck—are accused of deliberately setting fire to the school alongside other suspects who are still at large. According to the prosecution, several students identified the accused as being among those who carried out the arson attack, which resulted in massive destruction of property.

The court heard that the suspects allegedly planned the act and used petrol to start the fire, which they reportedly bought after voluntarily contributing money among themselves.

The accused students have denied the charges and have requested the court to allow them to present defence witnesses. Magistrate Chakudza has since adjourned the case to Thursday this week to allow the defence to present its evidence.

Investigations have revealed that the fire destroyed school property estimated to be worth over K500 million