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A STUDENT of a named University in Lusaka has been dragged to court for house breaking and theft.
Appearing at the Lusaka magistrate court before magistrate Mutinta Mwenya was Lavender Nakachima accused of stealing items valued at K16, 147.00 the property of Daniel Kaunda.
When the matter came up for return of bench warrant, magistrate Mwenya revoked Nakachima’s police bond and sent her to Chainama mental hospital after her sister informed the court that she was a mental patient and has been talking to herself.
The court was informed that Nakachima had been missing court since last year October without any reasons.
It is alleged that Nakachima on July 11, 2022 in Lusaka in the Lusaka, did break and enter in the dwelling house of Kunda and did steal therein 2 pairs of Shoes, 1 Deodorant Stick, 1 Face Lotion, 1 after Shave Cream, 1 Lacoste After Shave, 1 Loreal Face Wash, Ear pods, 1 Toothpaste, 1 IPhone 6, 1 HTC Shaving Machine, 1 Power Bank, Charging Cables, 1 Organ Oil, 1 HP Desk Top Monitor and 1 Pen altogether valued at K16,147.00.
However, after a report from her sister that the accused had mental health conditions and usually runs away from home, the court sent her to Chainama mental hospital to determine whether she is able to stand trial.
Magistrate Mwenya said the accused even took plea and cross examination was conducted which indicates that she is okay.
“I have revoked your police bond, I will take you to the hospital instead so that the doctors can examine your mental capability and will be able to give a report if you can stand a trial or not,” she ruled.
She adjourned the matter to April, 5 2023 for report from the doctor.

 A 71-year-old man of Kashikoto in Eastern Kafue National Park area has had a bone in his right upper thigh crashed by a hippo while fishing at Kwa Kahilu area stream. Sitali Sililo who was trying to catch fish had his boat flipped over by the hippo and then it attacked him and crashed a […]

AFTER reviving the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying dream with a 3-1 thumping of Lesotho last Thursday, the Zambia national soccer team will seek to complete a double victory over their Southern African rivals when the two teams face off in the second fixture of the back-to-back clashes today in South Africa.
The Group H fixture slated for Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg promises more exciting action as Lesotho will be seeking revenge for the painful defeat recorded in Ndola on Thursday.
Chipolopolo coach Avram Grant will seek to maintain an unbeaten record after starting his reign as Chipolopolo gaffer with a 3-1 win.
And despite having beaten Lesotho on Thursday, Grant knows it won’t be easy facing Lesotho who are still searching for their first win in the group stages.
The Chipolopolo gaffer however believes he has a good squad that can go all the way to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“We have good players that can take us further but it will not be an easy job, it will be difficult but we have the material, we have the players that can take us to the AFCON we have a big squad, of course the squad can change from time to time but we have a team,” Grant said.
Meanwhile, Chipolopolo physiotherapist Hensley Chilimboyi said the team’s captain Lubambo Musonda is not fit for the reverse fixture after sustaining an injury in the home game where he was replaced by Lameck Banda.
The team is medically fit except for Lubambo Musonda who sustained a left hamstring injury,” Chilimboyi said.
With Lubambo Musonda still a doubt, Grant will look to Italian Serie A-based Lameck Banda to provide the individual brilliance that sow him come from the bench to score a brace that helped the Chipolopolo collect their second victory in Group H.
In goal, Grant is likely to maintain Toaster Nsabata with the back four of Benedict Chepeshi, Rodrick Kabwe, Frankie Musonda and Thandi Mwape who proved to be solid on Thursday.
Patson Daka is expected to lead the attack with Fashion Sakala and Klings Kangwa while Emmanuel Banda and Clatous Chama maybe deployed in midfield.
Zambia is second in the group with six points, one point behind Ivory Coast who are unbeaten with seven points while Comoros and Lesotho are third and fourth with three and one point respectively.

By NATION REPORTER
EMERITUS Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu has demanded that President Hakainde Hichilema should apologise or step aside for failing to meet the aspirations and expectations of Zambians.
Archbishop Mpundu has branded the UPND government an incorrigible establishment that did not care or tend to the needs of the people but those of their own.
“You are dealing with an establishment that is incorrigible because we tell them and they do not care to listen. There is documentary evidence to that effect. President Hichilema should apologise to Zambians for failing the people. He has failed to meet the aspirations and expectations of the people,” Archbishop Mpundu said.
Archbishop Mpundu said there was need for those in government to apologise to Zambians who were hungry, angry and frustrated by the inability of President Hichilema to make their lives easier as he had promised when he was canvassing for votes.
And Archbishop Mpundu has said the crusade against corruption, is it nothing but selective persecution of economic transgressors.
He said the selective persecution of wrongdoers was nothing but corruption because some individuals were deemed more equal than others when President Hichilema had been preaching the no sacred cows’ mantra in the fight against the vice.
Archbishop Mpundu said that selective persecution was in fact worse because it was targeting individuals based on retribution, vindictiveness, hatred and vengeance.
He said during the Kenneth Kaunda era, Zambians were told that they would be driving cars but that the narrative changed immediately he was ushered into office and that the UPND should never think it had successfully fooled Zambians with their unfulfilled promises.
He said Zambians had learnt a bitter lesson by voting for the UPND based on promises the governing party and its leadership knew they would never fulfil.
Archbishop Mpundu said he could not influence President Hichilema to do the right thing but that he would continue talking on behalf of the people who were being affected by the harsh economic policies being pursued by the UPND.
He said the UPND government had mastered the art of divide and rule principle, citing the blocking of the Our Civic Duty Agenda (OCiDA) first press conference under the new dawn administration.
Bishop said politicians needed to be alert and that the verbal attack by the head of State against his predecessor former President Edgar Lungu was a scandal which according to him should have attracted protests against President Hichilema.

By GIDEON NYENDWA

President Hakainde Hichilema yesterday commissioned the 750+12 Mega Watts at the Kafue Lower Gorge, which is an addition to the 2,800 MW of the country’s installed generation capacity.

About $2 billion was injected in to this project to enhance power generation capacity in the country which had suffered acute load shedding just a few months ago.

President Hichilema has disclosed that plans were underway to expand the Kafue Gorge Lower Power Plant to enhance power production and cure the perennial load shedding Zambians had for a long time been subjected to.

With the five turbines, including the latest commissioned one, electricity deficit could be a thing of the past and Zambia could continue exporting power without worrying of running into an electricity supply shortage.

Speaking when he paid courtesy call on seven Chiefs from Lusaka and Southern Provinces in Chikakanta District yesterday where he commissioned the fifth turbine at Kafue Gorge Lower, President Hichilema said Zambia’s target is to produce up to 2000 megawatts and the country was only short of that by about 200 Megawatts.

Mr Hichilema said the expansion would either be up-stream or downstream and that the head of State was determined to ensure that Zambia was power sufficient.

“You will see a little bit more push either upstream or lower stream, President Hichilema said. President Hichilema said it was investments such as the Kafue Gorge Lower Power project that was enabling Government to even be able to pay retirees dues such as the recent paying of former TAZARA workers.

He said the decisions by the chiefs to be present at the commissioning ceremony underscored the value they place on the ticket of development.

Mr Hichilema said the hosts of this massive project must be part of the beneficiaries that was why he had engaged with the management at ZESCO to create annuity income for the local people.

In attendance was chieftains Mukamaambo the second, Chief Mukuni, Chief Nayuma, chief Chooma, chief Chiyawa.

By LUCY PHIRI

FORMER Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) managing director, Samuel Bwalya has been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment with hard labor in a case he was facing twelve counts of abuse of authority involving more than involving K780, 000.

Bwalya aged 51, of Avondale, Lusaka had pleaded not guilty to abuse of authority of office contrary to Section 21 (1) (a) as read with Section 41 of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012.

Previously, magistrate Faides Hamaundu sitting under the economic and financial crimes court found Bwalya with a case to answer and had put him on his defense.

Bwalya in his defense, submitted that he was entitled to educational allowances and was also getting the same allowances his predecessor was getting as per contract.

However, when the matter came up yesterday for judgement, magistrate Hamaundu ruled that there was no evidence that was approved by legal and human resource department that he was qualified to have the educational allowances.

Magistrate Hamaundu further ruled that Bwalya abused the authority of his office in the manner he arbitrarily directed the payments of school fees for his children using public funds belonging to DBZ.

She further ruled that the act was prejudicial to the rights and interests of the Republic of Government, a matter or transaction that involved the said public body.

Ms. Hamaundu in her findings said Bwalya was not qualified to get the education allowance as claimed.

She also said the state prosecution had proved their case beyond reasonable doubt that Bwalya indeed abused his office.

“I have found out that as DBZ managing director, he signed a contract in April 2020, and through his course of duty he got the education allowance for his four children.

In count one he got K6,980, in count two K8116 and in the rest of the counts he got K8,420, K4,670, K6,840, K6,560, 10,924rands, K9,070 rand and 15,980 pounds,” she said.

Magistrate Hamaundu said the evidence from the prosecution was overwhelming and she found the accused guilty and convicted him accordingly.

In mitigation, Bwalya said he was a first offender who is married and have children.

“I’m a first offender and I am married with children, I’m asking for leniency from the court,” he submitted.

But the court said using public funds has become a concern and rampant to public service workers and its punishable by law.

“I have considered that you are a first offender and what you have said in mitigation, but since the money was recovered I will sentence you to 15months imprisonment with hard labor, and the sentence will run concurrently in all twelve counts, “ magistrate Hamaundu ruled.

By NATION REPORTER

GOVERNMENT is going to ensure that it regulates the issuance of export permits of mealie meal and maize in a bid to protect the country’s food basket, Agriculture Minister Reuben Mtolo Phiri has said.

Mr Phiri told Parliament that Government has never and will never stop the export of mealie meal or even maize but it was regulating because Zambia was considered as the top producer of grade one non-GMO maize in the region.

He was responding to Petauke MP Emmanuel Banda who rose on a matter of serious public importance to know why Government was taking long to issue export permits

He said Government was under stress and that was why they were trying to regulate the export of maize because if left unchecked the country would lose out.

“Government has stopped the issuance of export permits but what is happening is that we are controlling in order to curtail smuggling which is very rampant,” Mr Phiri said.

Mr Phiri said if Government was going to be careless then the country would run out of stock and it would be blamed.

He said goverment would not hinder those that had been given export permits and that it would not stop issuing.

Mr Phiri said   collective individuals needed to protect the country’s food stock because if nothing was done there would be a disaster.

He said Government was worried about the cross border trade because it had given enough stock continuously to millers hence there should be no shortage.

“We have two months which we need to be very careful with because if we don’t then we are going to have a serious shortage,” he said.

He said government had enough stock that would last up to the next harvest.

Meanwhile over 50 Tanzanian maize traders have been stuck in the country from November last year after government allegedly refused to issue them with export permits of the grain for unexplained reasons.

The traders indicated that the government was taking too long to issue an export permit for them to export the 12,000 metric tonnes of maize to Tanzania.

A new study examining the gene expression of gut microbes suggests that the heart-healthy benefits of walnuts may be linked to beneficial changes in the mix of microbes found in our gut. The findings could help identify other foods or supplements with similar nutritional benefits.

By PRINCE MABUMBA

UPND National Trustee Grace Chibuve has said, it is shocking that the PF senior members are condemning what President Hakainde Hichilema is doing when they left the country in a mess.

Ms Chibuve said, the PF should be appreciating the efforts by the Head of State to bring sanity in the country especially in areas they destroyed because of corruption.

“It is shameful that PF seniors members like Brian Mundubile are telling the President to fulfil promises like reducing the prices of fuel to K5 and mealie meal to K50 when they made the country to be where it is right now.

They prioritised to plunder the public resources during their reign. All they knew at that time was to steal from the people and then they want to start attacking the President today who is trying to put things in the right direction. We are aware that you still have the money you stole from the people which you are using to regroup thinking you can unseat the UPND. To tell you the truth that financial muscle you have, it will not help you to bring down UPND,” she said.

Ms Chibuve said, Zambians know well how the PF destroyed the country, therefore, they will not make any mistake to give them another mandate because they will put the country in turmoil.

She said, the PF should allow President Hichilema to work towards rebuilding the country they destroyed.

she said, Zambia is in the safe hands under the UPND administration.

Despite earlier success in receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, women surgeons are underrepresented among surgeon-scientists, according to a study published online March 20 in JAMA Network Open.