16 People arrested for livestock theft
By Martha Kanene
Police in Chongwe have arrested seven people in connection with the theft of 16 animals from Nyelele Village in Nyimba District, Eastern Province.
The arrest follows a tip-off from a concerned citizen about the suspicious sale of a carcass at Soweto Market on January 4, 2025.
Among those apprehended are the driver and his assistant of a vehicle, Mitsubishi Canter, used to transport the stolen livestock, five suspects who hired the vehicle, and the buyer of the stolen meat.
Police Spokesperson Rae Hamoonga says investigations have revealed that the animals were stolen two days earlier from Astrida Phiri, a livestock owner in Nyimba.
Mr. Hamoonga says police officers recovered one and a half animals that had been butchered and stored in the cold room at Soweto Market.
He says the vehicle and cold room have been seized, and the suspects will be transferred to Nyimba District for formal charges.
Mr. Hamoonga has named the suspects as Thomas Chungwe, 52, Clever Phiri, 52, of Mashati Village, Fuckson Lungu, 54, of Mulila Village, Mekelani Tembo, 39, of Nyimba, and Tyson Phiri, 30.
Others include a driver from Mtendere Compound, Samson Lungu, 18, the lorry boy who is a juvenile from Mtendere Compound, and Ruth Nguni, 64, the buyer of the carcass from Kanyama Compound.
