By REBECCA MUSHOTA
ALERT members of the public may have averted a catastrophe when they apprehended one of two persons they said attempted to set a bus ablaze at the busy Inter-city Bus Terminus in Lusaka.
The incident happened on Thursday night between 20:00 hours and 21:00 hours.
The suspect and a companion whom Police said was now on the run, attempted to set a bus on fire using a burning head sock that was thrown under the vehicle parked in Zambia’s busiest bus terminal for long distance travellers.

KATONGO

Police spokesperson Esther Katongo said the man on the run had set a head-sock alight and thrown it under one of the buses but alert members of the public quickly got to it and removed it.
While the man fled the scene, members of the public turned their attention to another, named by Police as Mwila Chungu, 32.  After searching him, they found a head-sock in his bag, similar to the one that had been lit and thrown under the bus.
They then apprehended him and reported the matter to police.
Ms Katongo said the suspect is currently in police custody while investigations and a manhunt for the person on the run had been instituted.
“We thank the alert members of the public for partnering with the police in promoting public security and safety and for preventing the misfortune from happening and we call upon them to continue being alert,” she said.
Meanwhile, Police have apprehended one person and are looking for two others in connection with the stabbing of a minibus conductor Shadreck Njobvu, at the University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) on Tuesday.
The suspect, who was in the company of two others, is believed to have come from Monze. They were using a Toyota Corolla.
After a crowd was pushed from the Lusaka magistrates court where the United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema was appearing, part of it went to UTH bus station where the suspect started demanding money from the victim, a bus conductor.
When Mr Njobvu told them he had no money, one of them stabbed him and rushed to their vehicle to change clothes.
The three then victimised another person whom they beat up and wanted to burn using a tyre.
Ms Katongo said the suspect was apprehended the same day around 10:00 hours. After searching the motor vehicle, a UPND membership card and UPND regalia was found in the car.
He has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with intent to steal and a search for the other two has continued.
The suspect is currently undergoing medication at UTH as he fell into a ditch when police were pursuing him and had a dislocation on the leg.