By White Luhanga
A 16-year-old boy in Chief Kalindawalo’s Chiefdom of Petauke District has died after being electrocuted by live electricity wires.
Eastern Province Police Commissioner Robertson Mweemba confirmed the incident, stating that it occurred yesterday, 9th January 2026, at around 12:00 hours in Garden Compound.
Mr. Mweemba said the incident happened while Gift Banda, now the deceased, was playing at the residence of his 13-year-old friend.
He explained that earlier that morning, the deceased had left his home at about 10:00 hours to go and play at his friend’s house.
At the time of the incident, the friend’s parents, who are both business persons, had left home to attend to their business activities.
While playing in the yard, the friend allegedly tampered with electrical wiring by illegally connecting two live wires to a clothesline wire that was stretched between the main house and another structure within the yard.
Mr. Mweemba said that five children aged 10, 11, 13, and 14, including Gift, now the deceased, began touching the electrified clothesline wire.
He said that in the process, four of the children suffered electric shocks but survived. However, the deceased, who was barefoot at the time, was electrocuted.
He was immediately rushed to Petauke District Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The body has since been deposited into Petauke District Hospital Mortuary, awaiting a postmortem examination.
Mr. Mweemba said investigations into the matter are ongoing.
Ends.