CRIMINALS, armed with screw-drivers, almost killed a defenceless Sydney Mwansa of New Kanyama residential area, Lusaka, on Monday, March 21, 2022.

Mwansa recounted to Kalemba that he met the near death occurrence around 15:00 hours, while at his AirtelMoney booth along Mumbwa Road, near Lubona Butchery.

He narrated that a mini-bus stopped near his booth to let a passenger withdraw money from his booth.

“But before even a transaction could be completed, I saw a group of three men armed with screw drivers and short round bars,” Mwansa said.

“Immediately, they pierced the screw driver into the mini-bus tire and began pointing at the bus conductor with screw-drivers, threatening to injure him.”

Mwansa said seeing what was happening a spit distance from his ‘office,’ he was fraught with fear.

“(While) trembling with great fear, I said to the three guys that ‘you guys, what you are doing is wrong!’ Instead, they shifted their anger on me and violently dragged me out of my AirtelMoney booth, hit me with a screw-driver, punched me, kicked my entire body and took me to their office where they continued beating me until I collapsed,” Mwansa recounted.

The victim added that the assailants, who even have an office, robbed from him K4, 900, an Infinix phone and a laptop bag.

“A medical report was issued and a docket successfully processed. The officer asked me to lead them to where they could find the three criminals and since I already involved my colleague to check where they were exactly, I told the officers that I know where you are going to find these guys,” said Mwansa.

“But the officers told my driver to go to Lumumba police. When we reached at Lumumba police, the officers I was with directly entered in their colleague’s office and began to chat. Momentarily, they called the leader of the three guys who robbed and assaulted me. They had a chat with him and thereafter, they said to me that let’s go and check if these criminals are still there. I really feel hopeless right now and I don’t know the next step I should take.”

Kalemba