Three police officers have been sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour by the Kitwe High Court after being found guilty of aggravated robbery involving a copper blister, a chain block and four steel pipes valued at K65,040.
Court records show that Richard Mpengaula and Teddy Nyirenda, of Wusakile Police Station, together with Kennedy Mwansa, of Kamfinsa Mobile Unit, were jointly charged alongside Luka Mtonga and Peter Kambayenda.
The group was accused of acting together and armed with a firearm when they committed the offence on January 3, 2020 in Kitwe.
All five denied the charge, but after the State, represented by National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) advocates, presented its evidence, they were found with a case to answer and placed on their defence.
Delivering judgment yesterday, Court of Appeal Judge Abbah Patel, sitting as High Court judge, convicted Mpengaula, Nyirenda and Mwansa and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Mtonga and Kambayenda were acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence linking them to the robbery.
Mtonga was the driver of the hired vehicle used to transport the stolen items, while Kambayenda was the conductor.
-Zambia Daily Mail