Chembe man drowns in pool

A 24-year-old man of Chembe District in Luapula Province has drowned in a pit left by constructors who were constructing the Mansa Chembe road in the early seventies.

Chrispine Mutemba drowned on Saturday afternoon when he was trying to pick a hand-made football from the pool but ended up drowning in the hole.

A check by ZANIS last evening found the fire brigade from Mansa draining water from the pond in an effort to retrieve the body which the villagers had failed to retrieve since Saturday.

Mother of the deceased, Ruth Lukonde, who was around at the scene of the accident, said they tried to stop his son from getting into the water but he insisted.

Ms Lukonde said she had run out of words over her only son’s untimely death, adding that he was the one looking after her and has left behind a wife and a child.

Speaking at the scene, Chembe District Commissioner, Simon Lwando appealed to village headmen to avoid allocating plots to people near places that may endanger their lives.

Mr Lwando, who described the accident as unfortunate, said there is need to move people who have stayed near such pits to avoid the reoccurrence of the accident.

He added that there is need to build recreation facilities for youths so that such accidents could be avoided in future.