.MUSENGE

By VINCENT MATANDIKO  and REBECCA MUSHOTA –
A  ZAMBIAN truck driver has been shot dead by a Congolese police officer who was demanding over US$10 from him.
Briefing Chililabombwe District Commissioner, Stuart Chitumbo and Mayor Godwin Matafwali at the Kasumbalesa border facility, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Kasumbalesa mayor Andrea Kapampa said the driver was shot on Thursday around 19:00 hours.
Mr Kapampa identified the driver as Patrick Mwila, aged 30, of Mikomfwa Township in Luanshya who was shot 10 kilometres away from the border.
He said Mr Mwila was driving a truck belonging to Gass Transport Limited, a Ndola-based company.
“The driver was shot in the neck around 19:00 hours and he died on the spot,” Mr Kapampa said.
Mr Kapampa said the police officer was currently on the run.
And several drivers who witnessed the incident said the police officer was demanding $10 from the driver and when the driver refused to give him the money, he removed the number plate from the truck.
When the driver asked for the number plate, the police officer shot him in the neck, killing him instantly.
By press time both the Zambian and the Congolese delegations were still in a meeting.
Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge, who also confirmed the shooting, appealed to members of the public in Kasumbalesa area to be calm as the matter was under control.
Mr Musenge said he was having talks with the DRC consulate in Ndola to register his displeasure at the incident and get more information.
He said the two parties were discussing how to proceed with the issue while the police were making efforts to inform the family.
Meanwhile, Zambian truck drivers have staged a protest and are not crossing into the DRC demanding justice to prevail over the murder of their colleague.