By KASONDE KASONDE? –
THE Kabwe High Court has sentenced a 28-year-old man to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour for killing his wife.
Kelvin Kalunda of Mumbwa District was faced with manslaughter charges after he caused the death of his wife.
Kalunda on September 9, last year beat his wife Agnes Chipandula to death after suspecting her of infidelity.
On the said date around 07:00 hours in Mumbwa as Kalunda’s wife was watering plants outside their house with her brother, a man stopped by to talk to her.
This angered Kalunda and he accused the wife of infidelity.
He engaged in a quarrel with the wife over the issue after which he beat her mercilessly until she collapsed before he fled.
Ms Chipandula’s brother rushed to call people to assist him take her to the hospital but she died on the way there.
Police later apprehended Kalunda and charged him with murder, a charge that was later reduced to manslaughter.
In mitigation, Kalunda pleaded with the court to be lenient with him as he was a father of four and a breadwinner.
Judge-in-charge Mwiinde Siavwapa in passing judgment said he was sentencing Kalunda to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour to serve as a warning to perpetrators of gender-based violence (GBV).
He added that it was unfortunate that Kalunda had decided to brutally kill his own wife because he suspected her of being unfaithful to him.
