A GRANDPA who attempted to sell a 21-year old Mozambican woman living with albinism at K100 million, sent the audience into fits of laughter last week Friday when he begged the Court to allow him implicate his other abettors who had gone scott free.
60- year old Patson Tembo, a farmer, threw tantrums before magistrate Constance Kasankala demanding that he be turned into a state witness so that he could name his accomplices in committing the crime.
Tembo is charged with two counts of conduct facilitating trafficking in persons and prohibition of trafficking in persons which he readily admitted.
He is jointly charged with Moses Banda, 25, a farmer of Petauke, Jackson Zulu, 44, a driver of Lusaka’s Sitambula, Andrew Kabali, 37, of Makeni Villa, Emmanuel Mwanla, 29, of Matero, Richard Moonga, 27, a musician of Garden House, and Daniel Mwanza, 38, of Chibisa in Lusaka.
It is alleged that on February 7, 2024 the seven whilst acting together with other persons unknown did conduct themselves in a manner of facilitating human smuggling.
The seven between February 6 and February 16, 2024 whilst acting together intentionally and unlawfully, trafficked the woman to Zambia for the purpose of engaging in sexual exploitation and receiving of payments or benefits.
Tembo explained that he accommodated the woman at his house so that she could fulfill the sexual desires of the man he used to stay with.
“I brought her to Lusaka, I wanted to sell her at K100, million. What led me to sell her is because the business involves a lot of money that’s the reason I wanted to sell her,”Tembo explained.
Moses Banda who is alleged to have proposed marriage to the woman when she was captured in Mpabene village in Mozambique claimed he had no business with the woman.
He said he accompanied his grandfather (Tembo) to Lusaka because he had promised to buy him clothes.
“We only brought her to Lusaka. I followed because I wanted to buy new clothes. My grandpa said he was bringing us for shopping in Lusaka. I didn’t know his business with the woman,”explained Banda
According to facts before Court the woman was waylaid by Tembo and his grandson who proposed love to her but she refused.
Tembo who was in the company of his grandson and three others enticed the woman with marriage to a business tycoon but the survivor stood her ground.
Tembo is said to have attempted to strangle the victim but when she screamed, his accomplices put a cloth in her mouth and hog tied her.
The woman was later put on a motor bike and her hostage takers made way to Petauke using the bush.
She was was kept at Tembo’s house so that she could be traded to persons in search of people living with albinism.
The woman was moved to some lodge in Lusaka as Tembo kept on searching for a ‘buyer’.
Unknown to him, Tembo ended up selling the woman to law enforcement officers who were investigating the matter.
The grandpa had told one of the officers that he only needed K100 million and the woman would be his, the purported buyer said he would pay Tembo and has accomplices 150 million since they travelled from Petauke and asked them to wait a bit for the money.
The seven only realized that they had engaged in a business transaction with the police after they were busted.
Asked if the facts were correct, Tembo said the people indicated on the charge sheet as unknown were actually known to him.
“Those people are not unknown they are actually known and I want to mention them. I can lead the police to them and identify them,” the grandpa said causing members of the gallery to burst into laughter.
Magistrate Kansakala tried to make Tembo understand that the facts only referred to him since he pleaded guilty to the charges, but he still on his demands that he be turned into a witness so that he could expose them.
“I can mention my accomplices (nibaziba ningabasonte bamene sibali muno, tenze tonse but beve sibanabagwile (I can identify those who have not been jointly charged with me, we committed the crime together but they have not been jointly charged with me),” The grandpa said.
Magistrate Kasanka convicted the 60-year old upon his own admission of guilt and reserved his sentence until the State concludes with trial for his co-accused.
CAPTION: File photo for illustration
By Mwaka Ndawa
Kalemba March 25, 2024.
