THERE was ‘loud’ mortuary silence in the Lusaka High Court yesterday as a police officer revealed chilling details of how late Information and Broadcasting Authority (IBA) director general, Guntila Muleya was savagely executed.
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Detective Sebastian Simayumbula, 36, a scene-of-crime officer from Sikanze Police Camp, told the court when he arrived at the scene of murder on July 24, 2024, Muleya’s body lay motionless, face down and handcuffed, dressed neatly in a black suit.
Muleya’s bullet-riddled body was lying face down at NAPSA Complex in Njolwe, bearing unmistakable gunshot wounds to the back of his head, forehead, and chest — with one wound so severe it “left a gaping hole on the forehead.”
The killing resembled the execution of a criminal, not a dedicated public servant.
As the officer testified, four men, — police officers Thusani Dokowe, 29 and Caleb Zulu, 30, a systems engineer Samuel Dokowe, and accountant Francis Chipyoka aged 42, sat quietly in the opposite dock accused of carrying out the heinous crime.
Simayumbula said two used cartridge cases were found about two metres from the body, and the area was cordoned off to preserve evidence.
“He was lying like a suspect, not a victim,” the detective remarked somberly.
The officer said Muleya’s identity was confirmed after discovering a wallet and an ID card in the jacket pocket.
The body was later taken to the mortuary, while the handcuffs were sent to the forensic department for DNA analysis.
However, under cross-examination, Simayumbula conceded that he could not link the accused directly to the crime scene and had not brought the police camera used to photograph the scene to court.
Meanwhile, Paul Chilazya, a 50-year-old security guard with Black Rock Security Firm, recounted his last encounter. He testified that on the night of July 23 at around 21:00 hours , a Toyota Prado drove into Goodson Car Park in Kuku, where the driver paid him K100 as parking fee of K15 and left, saying he would collect his change the following morning.
“I requested for his number, but the man gave me K100 and he started going but I asked for his number again so that incase he delays in the morning I can call him.
He did not look behind but eventually gave me his number and that is how he left. When l wanted to give him change he refused saying he was going to get it the following day.”
“The next day, the car was still there,” Chilazya said, adding that when he called the phone number the man had given him, a woman answered, saying her husband did not know how to drive. Police later arrived to secure the vehicle on July 24, 2024 in the evening.”
Trial continues
Kalemba October 7, 2025
