By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
A THIRTY-THREE-YEAR-old fisherman of Kavalamanja Village in Luangwa District has been jailed for 10 years for strangling his girlfriend to death  after she persistently harassed him for K500.
Dolani Tembo concealed the body of Agatha Njovu, 24, in a hut for more than 12 hours without raising alarm.
Lusaka High Court Judge Mwila Chitabo established extenuating circumstances in the murder of Ms Njovu and jailed Dolani for 10 years, as a contribution to the campaign against gender based violence (GBV), which he said has seen many women lose their lives.
Mr Justice Chitabo observed that Ms Njovu was murdered in cold blood by Dolani who later fled the village without telling anyone about her death.
Dolani between October 17 and October 18 2014 strangled his girlfriend to death after inflicting her with a deep injury on her forehead and bruising on her face.
Ms Njovu’s body was discovered hours later in Dolani’s hut wrapped in a blanket with white stuff coming out of the mouth.
Dolani, who admitted to causing the death of the woman he claimed he loved, told the court that the killing was not intentional but that he was pushed to the limit by her persistent demand for K500 from him.
Dolani said he constantly checked on her with the hope that she would live but discovered her body had turned cold and that is when he ran away from the crime scene.
While on the run, Dolani was on October 29, last year spotted  by some people walking on foot on the Great East Road heading towards Lusaka.
Police were alerted and they arrested and charged him with the murder of Agatha.