A businessman who stopped attending court has been detained after the mother of his child withdrew as his surety in a case where he is charged with theft of a motor vehicle.
Emma Wamunyima, 32, told the court that she no longer wished to remain surety for Abel Sinyangwe, 38, because he had blocked her mobile phone number and cut off all communication.
“He blocked me and barred me everywhere. He had been threatening me,” Ms Wamunyima said.
She also accused Sinyangwe of selling her car.
Sinyangwe is charged with stealing a Land Cruiser worth K410,000 belonging to Erastus Mukuka on May 11, 2022.
Before the trial could begin, Sinyangwe—who was out on bail—stopped attending court for 11 months, prompting the issuance of a bench warrant.
When the case was called yesterday, Ms Wamunyima informed the court that she no longer wished to act as surety for the accused, who was apprehended on Saturday at a bar and restaurant in Woodlands.
“You are lucky I would have ordered that you be detained if the accused had not been found,” magistrate Mwandu Sakala said, before asking the accused to explain his absence.
“You were lost and now found. Why were you not coming to court?”
In response, Sinyangwe said he had travelled to Kasempa in North-Western Province to mine minerals, but during a police raid, his phone was stolen in the chaos.
-Zambia Daily Mail