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TWO children of the same family in Chimbalanga village in Masaiti district on Monday died instantly after they were blown to pieces by an explosive device, which they picked up while playing in a nearby bush.
The children are aged four and six.
Copperbelt commissioner of police Joyce Kasosa and Masaiti district commissioner Joseph Mwambana confirmed in separate interviews yesterday that the incident happened in the early hours of Monday.
Ms Kasosa has identified the deceased as Ben Chimbalanga and John Chimbalanga Junior.
“I can confirm that two children of the same family have died after they picked an explosive from a nearby field and started playing with it. For some unknown reason, the children decided to put the explosive on the fire which they were using to cook food and that is how it exploded, killing them instantly,” Ms Kasosa said.
She said the bodies were torn to pieces and found about 10 metres away from the fire.
Ms Kasosa said the incident happened while the parents of the boys were away in the fields.
She said police suspect that the children picked up the explosive from a nearby bush because the village is located near a military armory.
Ms Kasosa said the dead boys have been buried.
Meanwhile, police in Ndola have launched a manhunt for a taxi driver of Ndola who allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman in graveyard.
Ms Kasosa said the incident happened on Sunday around 22:00 hours at Kawama Cemetery near Chifubu township.
She said identified the suspect as Kelly Sikeleti Ms Kasosa said Mr Sikeleti ran away after the woman shouted for help.
She said the woman, who is a resident of Mufulira, was on her way home from Lusaka when the incident happened.
“She was travelling from Lusaka but she reached Ndola in the night and decided to hire a taxi at Broadway,” Ms Kasosa said.
She said the woman was charged K200 as taxi fare from Ndola to Mufulira but she failed to withdraw the money from automated teller machines (ATMs)
She said Mr Sekeleti allegedly offered to take the woman to Mufulira on an agreement that she should pay him when they reach there but he instead took her to Kawama Cemetery where he allegedly raped her.
“The woman was overpowered and when he was done and let go of her, she managed to shout for help and passersby came to her rescue,” Ms Kasosa said.
She said Sikeleti ran away and the matter was reported to Chifubu Police Station.
She said the woman was treated at Ndola Central Hospital while Mr Sikeleti is still at large.
