PRISONERS on death row at Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe yesterday protested and demanded to know whether they will be hanged or not.

There was panic among prison warders when they heard noise from the ‘condemned section’ of the prison, which in most cases is supposed to be quiet.

The 361 inmates, who complained of congestion in the prison, also demanded to be addressed by Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu.

The ‘condemned section’ at Mukobeko Maximum Prison has rooms meant for two or three people but currently seven or eight prisoners are made to share a single room.

“We were caught off-guard because the condemned section is normally quiet but we just heard noise and when we went closer, we heard the prisoners shouting that they want to know if they will be killed or not because of overcrowding,” reliable sources within the prison said.

The sources said the inmates protested over delays by authorities to hang them since no-one has been hanged in many years, causing congestion in the holding cells.

The prisoners complained that the congestion at the ‘condemned section’ which stood at 361 by last week was inhuman because people had continued to be sentenced to death while the prison had not been expanded.

The sources said some prisoners even threatened to go on hunger strike if their plight was not addressed by the relevant authorities.

A Sunday Times check around 16:00 hours showed that the situation had returned to normal.

When contacted for a comment, Mr Lungu confirmed having received a report over the ‘confusion’ but could not give more details.

He, however, called for calm among the prisoners, saying that the Government was working at de-congesting the ‘condemned section’ of Mukobeko Maximum Prison.

He said some prisoners would even be relocated to Mumbwa Prison which is under construction.

“My ministry is also engaging President Michael Sata to see if some of the prisoners can be released on parole, but the Government will ensure that their complaint is addressed,” he said.

The minister promised to visit the prison so that inmates on death row could explain their grievances.

In April last year, Vice-President Guy Scott toured the prison and described the deplorable conditions at the facility as ‘Hell on Earth’.

Dr Scott further said there was need to consult with Zambians whether they wanted those on death row to be executed or not and that he would table the issue before Cabinet.

The Vice-President said he was saddened by the poor conditions at the prison and promised that the government would improve the situation.

To ensure maximum security for the Chipolopolo at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) will attach two police officers to the squad.

FAZ president Kalusha Bwalya said apart from security to be provided by the AFCON Local Organising Committee (LOC), Zambia Police Service officers would also be with the African champions at their Nelspruit base.

Kalusha said in an interview in Ndola yesterday that attaching police officers had nothing to do with the team’s discipline but just to ensure maximum security for the Chipolopolo.

“We will have our own security apart from LOC security. Two police officers will be with the team,” he said.

At the 2012 AFCON finals, midfielder Clifford Mulenga was banished from the squad after breaking a team curfew but Kalusha yesterday declined to be drawn into discussing the past incident, only saying there were always consequences for indiscipline.

“We’ve moved about 3,000 kilometres away from that (2012 AFCON). Of course, there were consequences for that (indiscipline),” he said.

He said FAZ was happy with the team’s discipline under coach Herve Renard and that the spirit in the squad was fantastic.

Kalusha said the players were focused on the AFCON assignment and that Renard knew what he wanted to achieve at Africa’s premier football showpiece which kicks-off in a week.

And Renard has reiterated that his charges would be heading to South Africa to defend the AFCON.

“We are going to South Africa to defend our trophy with the same motivation and determination as we did when we first won it in Gabon,” Renard told fazfootball.com

He said with the support from thousands of fans who would travel to South Africa, the Chipolopolo would have a good tournament again.

Zambia was drawn against two-time champions, Nigeria, 1962 winners Ethiopia and Burkina Faso in Group C.

The Chipolopolo will kick-off the campaign against Ethiopia on January 21 before taking on Nigeria four days later and wind-up with Burkina Faso on January 29

One an unknown male person was hit and died on the spot by unidentified motor vehicle on Katima Mulilo road in Lusaka.

Zambia Police Service Spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela said the accident happened yesterday around 19:30 hours along Katima Mulilo road at Mount Meru near the Great East road.

Ms Kanjela said the unidentified driver did not stop after the incident adding that the body of the unidentified man is lying in the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Mortuary.

The police spokesperson has since appealed to members of the public who may be missing a friend or relative to go to the nearest police station.

Ms Kanjela said police have since launched a man hunt for the driver and called on members of the public to assist with information leading to the arrest of the suspect.

In a related development, a 52 year old pedestrian died on the spot after being hit by a motor vehicle yesterday around 06:00 hours along Independence Avenue in Kabwe.

Ms Kanjela explained that Mwando Mwanza aged 26 of house number 20, Chintu Northrise in Ndola who was driving a Toyota corolla registration number ACL 8719 from South to North hit a pedestrian, Mangi Lawrence aged 52 of house number F13 Mine compound in Kabwe.

She said the accident happened when the driver lost control of the motor vehicle due to excessive speed and went to hit a pedestrian who was off the road and the pedestrian died on the spot.

The police service spokesperson said the driver has since been charged with causing death by dangerous driving contrary to section 161 of the Road Traffic Act no. 11 of 2002 while the body of the deceased is lying in the Kabwe General Hospital Mortuary awaiting postmortem.

And in Kitwe, a pedestrian died on the spot after being hit by a motor vehicle along the Kitwe – Ndola dual carriage way opposite Kitwe Show Grounds around 21:00 hours yesterday.

Ms Kanjela said the accident involved a BMW registration number RJ54GCV driven by Chabala Mwape aged 38 of house number 28 CBU Riverside in Kitwe.

Also involved was unknown male pedestrian aged between 20 and 25 of unknown address who sustained fractured both legs, head injuries and died on the spot.

She explained that the accident happened when the motor vehicle which was moving from North to South went to hit a pedestrian who was crossing the road from East to West.

Ms Kanjela said the driver has since been charged with causing death by dangerous driving while the body is lying in the Kitwe Central Hospital Mortuary awaiting post mortem.

Meanwhile, Ms Kanjela has disclosed that one person escaped death in Lusaka yesterday when the vehicle he was driving was burnt to ashes due to an electrical fault.

She disclosed that the incident happened around 21:50 hours at Shimabala area along Kafue road.

Ms Kanjela said Nelson Phiri of house number 1052 AC6, Kafue Estates reported to the police that his motor vehicle, Toyota Alteza registration number AJC 2349 caught fire while he was driving from Lusaka to Kafue due to a suspected electrical fault.

And in a related development, property worth more than KR5, 000 was lost when a fire swept through two shops at Old Soweto market in Lusaka around 23:20 hours yesterday.

Ms Kanjela said one of the shops was being used as a bakery and it is suspected that the fire was caused by an oven which was left on.

A family of Kasama’s Chikumanino Township has been left homeless after fire swept through their house destroying goods worth millions of Kwacha.

The incident happened yesterday afternoon when many people were watching the Zambia versus Norway International friendly match on their television sets.

Some eye-witnesses told ZANIS that the fire was caused by high voltage from a ZESCO power-line after electricity was restored in the area.

Alice Banda, the owner of the house that was gutted cried uncontrollably as she and her family members watch helplessly as their house was in flames.

Efforts by some neighbours to call for help from the fire brigade proved futile as the fire tender at Kasama Municipal Council was multifunctional.

And Kasama District Commission Kalanga Bwalya regretted the gutting of a house in Chikumanino Township and appealed to government to urgently procure modern fire tenders for the district to adequately fight fire outbreaks.

Mr Bwalya observed that the impact of the  inferno that destroyed valuable household goods in Chikumanino Township would have been minimized if the district had a reliable fire tender.

He however said government will provide temporal accommodation to the affected family.