I know they will beat me in there, Mwewa cries to prison authorities

ZAMBIA Police officers have narrated to Kalemba what a hard time they had in admitting jailed “national teacher of English” Simon Mwewa to prison after his conviction on Tuesday.

The boisterous Facebook livestreamer known for his impeccable English accent, street broadcasts, social commentary and his insistence for folks to say it right, when they speak the King’s language was sentenced to six months imprisonment after he was convicted of maliciously deflating tyres of a minibus he thought was improperly parked near his business premises, Simoson Building, last June.

When all formalities where done and it was time for police to hand Mwewa over to prison authorities to book him in, he suggested that he should be taken to Lusaka Central Correctional facility popularly known as Chimbokaila instead of Kamwala Remand Prison.

The 53-year old business man told the officers that he feared that delinquent inmates at Kamwala Remand Prison would beat him blue black.

But despite officers spending more than an hour in trying to make Mwewa understated he could not be kept at Chimbokaila because his sentence was too short, he still insisted on being there because he feared he would be beaten.

The officers explained to Mwewa that he could not be accommodated at Lusaka Central Correctional facility because the bed space there was reserved for remandees facing capital offences before Court and inmates serving longer terms than his.

But explained as they might, Mwewa still insisted that he wanted to be booked in at Chimbokaila.

Seeing that their explanations were falling on deaf ears, the officers handed Mwewa over to prison authorities who according to sources took him to Mwembeshi Prison.

As of yesterday efforts were being made to have Mwewa released from prison by his sympathisers who engaged a lawyer to apply for bail pending appeal against his conviction and sentencing.

The lawyer could however not manage to file necessary documentation in request for bail as the judgement has not been made available.

By Mwaka Ndawa

Kalemba January 11, 2023.