A 19-year-old in Lusaka’s Mtendere Compound has died from injuries sustained in an assault reportedly from two 14-year-old classmates, who are now in police custody.
The incident, which police are investigating as a suspected murder, stemmed from a dispute over a theft case.
Kennedy Njobvu died at home on June 19, 2025, just days before a scheduled hospital review, succumbing to a subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
Police assistant spokesperson Godfrey Chilabi confirmed the death and ongoing investigation in a statement today.
According to Chilabi, the altercation occurred on June 10, 2025, between 17:00 hours and 18:00 hours in the Mtendere compound.
Njobvu reportedly confronted the two grade seven pupils after learning of their alleged involvement in a theft.
The confrontation escalated into a physical fight, during which Njobvu was punched with fists, sustaining bruises to the right side of his head and general body pains.
Njobvu lost consciousness during the altercation.
Relatives, accompanied by the two alleged assailants, took him to the police, where he was reported to be unconscious but alive.
Both parties presented medical reports, with the juveniles also claiming to have sustained internal injuries.
Njobvu was initially taken to Kalingalinga Health Centre and later referred to Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital, where he was admitted and discharged on June 12, 2025.
“The unfortunate reality is that the victim passed away at home on June 19, 2025, before his scheduled review appointment at the hospital on June 23, 2025,” Chilabi stated.
He added that the cause of death, was a subarachnoid hemorrhage due to blunt force trauma to the head, which is consistent with assault.
The two 14-year-old suspects have been taken into police custody.
Chilabi stated that the case, initially investigated as Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (O.A.B.H), has now escalated to a suspected murder investigation.
By Sharon Zulu
Kalemba, July 6, 2025
