By Simon Liseli
A man was caught red-handed at Kalumba SDA Church, sixteen kilometers (16) south of Katima Mulilo on August 16, 2022 with eleven (11) black plastic chairs and a wheel barrow.
He stole from Kalumba Seventh-Day Adventist Church (SDA) at around mid-night; He was caught by the church clerk Mr. Andy Muyendekwa who was from the village where he was called by his mother to see his child who got sick on that night. He said on arrival to his shop he watched a certain movie and suddenly heard some noise of a wheel barrow that was moving in a tarred road, “I got confused but I later thought that maybe it was a vehicle that was driven with an empty tire” he said.
He then went out of his shop and followed the noise, when he was close he discovered a man who was pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with plastic chairs.
He saw chairs belonged to the church and the wheel barrow which was used by builders who were building church toilets, the man asked Mr. Muyendekwa who he was, and where was he going during that time of the night.
“I told him that I was just going at a nearby village, he carried on with his journey and I turned back to wake-up others who assisted me to catch him” he remarked.
In a process of waking up others before he was caught the man continued pushing the wheelbarrow but the noise could not be heard because he was hiding whenever a vehicle passes. They however confronted him, he stopped and asked what were they looking for; Muyendekwa cheated him that they were looking for a certain guy who injured his friend when they were drinking beer.
“He went back to the wheel barrow, I jumped and grabbed his hands behind, and my uncle tied him a rope with the help of others who were awake, the chairperson of the community police Mr. Christopher Simasiku was alert and came to the scene where he called the Namibian police who took him to Katima Mulilo police station where a case of possession of stolen goods was opened against him” explained Muyendekwa.
He identified himself as Mr. Bwendo Songiso Muyunda from Malabwe district of Zambia, and was currently residing at Macaravani west in the town of Katima Mulilo.
It is also alleged that is the same person who came to steal windows and doorframes of the church toilets on 31st of July 2022, and this time around returned for chairs that he left in the church.
Bwendo was found in possession of a sharpened wheel spanner that he used to break the door of the church and a chain that was used to lock the burglar door of the church.
The communities within Kalumba area have also seriously condemned the police for their negligence for not responding quickly to people when a crime is reported.
“We took about an hour waiting for the police and that shows that they are not serious with their work, a person can die in hands of criminals while awaiting for their rescue and we have established that informal settlements like Macaravani and other compounds are residential places of criminals because are nearby Zambia border line, that makes them easy to cross with stolen goods”
Meanwhile, this case was confirmed by the Police Spokesperson of Zambezi region Inspector Kisco Sitali, who said the incidence happened on Thursday, August 25, 2022 last week, where the suspect by the name of Muyunda Songiso was caught red-handed by the community members with a wheel barrow and eleven (11) black plastic chairs.
The accused suspect was arrested by the Namibian police at Kalumba, and appeared before the district magistrate court in Katima Mulilo on 29 August 2022.
He is facing charges of house breaking, with the intent to steal and theft. His case was remanded to November 21, 2022 for pre-trial with CR NO: 215/08/2022 and he still remains in police custody until that date while police investigation in the matter continues.
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