• The Mailoni brothers with their mother in the middle

PEOPLE of the newly created Luano District of the Central Province lived like refugees in their own country as if Zambia did not attain independence on October 24, 1964.
This was so because of the three notorious Mailoni brothers who terrorised the area.
The three brothers Mika 35, Fabian, alias Tunda, 31, and Stephano 27, who caused terror and brutally killed 12 people, were shot dead in June last year and were buried in Kabwe with only security personnel present during burial amid celebration from villagers.
On the other hand, the Zambia Army officer Corporal Joe Shapela who shot dead the three in the company of other officers would be among 40 others in the province to be honoured by President Michael Sata according to the notice of the Golden Jubilee independence issued.
It was not just ordinary people who feared for their lives during the Mailoni brother’s reign of terror but their mother suffered not only emotionally but physically as well.
Villagers could not go to their fields for fear of being killed by the three brothers who used a bow and arrow to commit atrocities.
Fearing to be killed, their mother also escaped to Kabwe fearing to be killed and set her house ablaze.
“I lived in fear because I also suffered at the hands of my three sons but how was I supposed to know that this is what I was carrying during pregnancy? ”Ms Janet Ngimu asked.
Ms Ngimu who is in her late 70’s, said the reasons for the attacks are unknown but suspects there could have been people who caused her late sons to become killers.
She said following the killing of her sons, she asked for forgiveness from those who could have suffered at the hands of the three brothers and maintained their actions did not only cause fear to the public but to herself as well.
Of the three Mailoni brothers, Fabian popularly known as “Tunda” was last to be shot dead in the forest as he bravely dared the army officer by charging towards him even after he was already wounded.
According to reliable Zambia Army sources Tunda even in his last breath continued talking and told villagers who were with officers…’“Mwatushitisha” meaning you have sold us out.
Central Province Permanent Secretary Edwidge Mutale explained that Corporal Shapela, a soldier of Chindwin Barracks in Kabwe, who shot dead the notorious Mailoni brothers would be honoured with 40 others.
Some villagers had asked the army officer to escort them to get smears at the banks of the crocodile-infested Lunsenfwa River within the valley but as they were walking, they saw some fresh foot prints.
As they got closer to the river, there saw a camp with smoke bellowing out. This forced them to stand at a distance to check who had set up a camp in the area and later, they saw Mika and Stephano and at that, the villagers confirmed to the officers that they are the ones they were looking for.
“The officers wanted to be sure if they were the Mailoni brothers and the villagers assured them that they were positive about the identity and at that point, after getting closer they opened fire, “the source said.
After seeing that two of his brothers had been shot at with Tunda wounded in the leg, Mika started running and charging towards the armed officers forcing the corporal to open fire until he dropped to the ground.
While on the ground, he continued talking, and complained that they had been sold out by the villagers.
Among victims killed in cold blood by the three brothers was Zambia Flying Doctor Services (ZFDS) chief pilot Moses Masumba.
The three were identified by their mother and a brother. Villagers, who lost their relatives at the hands of the three, wept while others cursed the corpses as they remembered their loved ones. The villagers said they had wanted the three to face justice and explain why they were ruthlessly killing innocent people.
The Mailoni brothers were also reported to have killed Chief Chembe’s advisor, Christopher Nyama Champe of Shimpupula Village and Headman Mbalakawe Chipokolo of Shitambeni Village.
The infamous killers, led by Tunda, murdered up to five people in the Mkushi-Serenje area in 2009, using the most primitive method of bow and arrow.
Police even staked a K50, 000 reward to anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the three.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Solomon Jere has urged the villagers who abandoned the area to go back as Luano was now safe and pledged to continue patrolling the area to ensure safety .
Following the killing, the people of Luano celebrated knowing that they would be able to move freely and be able to go on with farming activities for their survival.
Ms Mutale also continued appealing to villagers who fled the area to return because the area was now free and that various developmental projects were underway to give the area a face lift.
The celebration of freedom witnessed following the killing of the three brothers was a sign of how important freedom is to people.
Clearly, this would be the jubilee to remember.