A 19-year-old girl and her 20-year-old “University sweetheart” have been detained at Chilenje Police Station awaiting a charge for having faked an abduction.

Police Spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said this in a statement made available to Tikambeko News that abduction claims are taken seriously, and anyone found to be deliberately misleading the police will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Mr Hamoonga said falsely claiming abduction not only wastes valuable police resources but also causes unnecessary panic among the public

He however identified the woman in question as Tumiya Nachivula and said she was reported missing and believed to have been abducted between 09:00 hours and 10:48 hours on Saturday.

“…Nachivula was also widely published on social media as having been abducted. Following an intensive investigation, the Police, with the support of ZICTA, tracked the believed location of the alleged abductee to Chongwe District. However, attempts to trace her in the area proved unsuccessful due to her phone being switched off. At approximately 2200 hours on October 7, 2024, Ms. Nachivula returned to her father’s residence in Chilenje and was taken to the Police Station,” he said.

“During questioning, it was revealed that the abduction was fabricated, and Ms. Nachivula had willingly left to her boyfriend, Joel Saili, aged 20, of Libala South who happens to be student at Chalimbana University living in a rented boarding house near the University in Chongwe.

Both individuals have been detained in custody waiting to be formally charged and arrested.”