BEFORE SENTENCING ELIAS COURTS SENT A WARNING TO ALL ZAMBIANS ABUSING SOCIAL MEDIA
No person is allowed to use their media presence or space to abuse another person, to make them feel unsafe and intimidate them, no matter who they are in life or their background.
She said this when jailed Elias for six months imprisonment with hard labour and fined him K70,000 after finding him guilty of cyber harassing artiste Elton Mulenga alias YoMap’s wife Kidist Kifle, whom he threatened with rape.
The magistrate recounted how evidence showed that Elias also posted a video online in which in whish Ms Kifle was having a drink with her friends and accused her of being in an open marriage, all meant to put her in bad light.
“It is unjustifiable for a person to get a video and circulate it and paint a married woman [Mr Kifle] in bad light because it is not morally correct for them to drink and hung out with their friends of opposite sex, at what point is the line then drawn?”.
Magistrate Mwenya adds that it was inhumane for Elias to threaten to rape the victim in front of her husband and also abduct their little daughter.
“… such is a barbaric act and inhumane not to mention,” the magistrate said.
In this matter, Elias was charged with two counts of harassment utilising means of electronic communication, contrary to section 69 of the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act number 2 of 2021.
On April 8, 2024, the accused used a computer system and intentionally initiated an electronic communication on his Facebook page, Elias Musyani.
He also reffered to Ms Kifle as ‘She-devil’ and evil stepmother.
The prosecution team was led by senior prosecutors Malama Chisenga and Joe Phiri, who called five witnesses to testify.
Both Mr Mulenga and his wife testified how Elias’ threats traumatized them and made them withdraw their little daughter from school.
The court heard that the couple contacted Elias and tried to reason which him but he was unrepentant, as evidence from a recording played on court.
Magistrate Mwenya later found him with a case to answer and placed him on his defence but the accused opted to remain silence in his defence.
In her judgement yesterday, the court said allegations against Elias were proved against him and he was guilty.
His lawyers pleaded for a lenient sentence because the youth has learnt his lesson and he is also a student needing a second chance.
The lawyers also produced two student identity cards for Elias but after the magistrate ‘scanned’ them, she noticed that the IDs were dated 2010 and 2012.
The judgment left Elias’ mother and other relatives weeping.