By SYLVIA MWEETWA –
A GUNMAN who was shot dead recently for terrorising guest houses and lodges in Mkushi and Serenje  districts of Central Province was an escapee from Kamfinsa State Prison in Kitwe while serving a jail sentence for defilement.
Family members who identified the deceased as John Chibeluka said he was serving a defilement  sentence but  escaped  while  in custody.
They said Chibeluka had been on the run for a long time.
And Central Province Commissioner of Police Standwell Lungu when contacted for a comment said Chibeluka had since been buried and that the matter was currently being investigated.
Commissioner of Prisons Percy Chato said the prison service would verify the report regarding the matter.
The family members interviewed explained that the death of Chibeluka was communicated to them by a female friend of the deceased and later held a funeral in Chingola.
The funeral was later abandoned after the family learnt that police were investigating the deceased for alleged robbery and murder.
The family members, who sought anonymity, said Chibeluka had eluded the police for a long time and that they did not know that he was involved in other criminal activities.
Police recently launched investigations to establish the identity of the gunman who had been terrorising guest houses and lodges and was subsequently shot dead on Sunday last week during an exchange of fire which left two police officers injured.
During one of his attacks, Chibeluka staged a robbery at a lodge in Serenje where he held hostage a receptionist and ordered that he be shown the manager’s office where he got away with a cash box containing an undisclosed amount of money.