EMMANUEL MWAMBA DEMANDS INDEPENDENT PROBE INTO DEATH OF POLICE OFFICER DANIEL BANDA
MWAMBA DEMANDS INDEPENDENT PROBE INTO DEATH OF POLICE OFFICER DANIEL BANDA:
Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba has called for an independent and transparent investigation into the death of Assistant Superintendent Daniel Banda at Zambia Police Service headquarters in Lusaka, disputing the police account that the officer died by suicide.
Police said Banda, a 53-year-old officer attached to the Ballistics Unit, locked himself in his office at about 17:00 hours on September 14 while armed with an AK-47 rifle and a pistol.
According to Assistant Police Public Relations Officer Timothy Malumo, Banda threatened to take his own life, prompting police negotiators to engage him for several hours in an effort to persuade him to surrender.
Malumo said the negotiations continued until about 20:45 hours, when Banda discharged a firearm and sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head. His body was subsequently taken to the University Teaching Hospital mortuary, where it is awaiting a post-mortem examination. Police have said investigations into the circumstances of his death have been instituted.
Mwamba, however, has challenged the police account and called for an independent inquiry into what he described as “a suspected murder being presented as suicide.”
He alleged that Banda may have died while being questioned by senior police officers, rather than having taken his own life.
Mwamba further claimed that Banda was the officer expected to sign off on an alleged exchange of fire and the discovery of a weapons cache during the August 14 military raid on the residence of NRPUP presidential candidate Brian Mundubile.
The raid resulted in the death of former Cabinet minister Mutotwe Kafwaya.
Mwamba alleged that Banda was being questioned by senior police officers at the time of his death and named Criminal Investigations Department Commissioner Maxwell Timba Mudenda, along with officers Boyd Kayelu, Harrington Akushanga and Innocent Makukwani.
“These prejudicial and extra-judicial killings have sadly continued,” Mwamba said.
He urged the authorities to provide the public with what he described as a full and credible account of the circumstances surrounding Banda’s death.
The police have maintained that Banda shot himself after negotiations to prevent him from taking his life failed, and have said further details will be released as investigations progress.
Mwamba’s allegations have not been independently established, and the circumstances surrounding Banda’s death remain subject to investigation and the post-mortem examination.