Chitambala Mwewa, widely recognized as Simon Mwewa Lane, has been sentenced to six months of simple imprisonment following his conviction on charges of malicious damage to property. The verdict was delivered by Lusaka Magistrate Fine Mayambu, who found Mr. Chitambala guilty based on compelling evidence presented during the trial.
The charges against Chitambala stemmed from an incident on June 01, 2023, in Lusaka, where he willfully and unlawfully damaged two motor vehicle tires belonging to Benjamin Talamuka. The tires were part of a minibus parked at Simosons’ Building, property of the accused’s family, opposite City Market.
Defending himself in court, Mr. Chitambala initially pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, after four witnesses testified in the matter, the magistrate established a prima facie case against him. Magistrate Mayambu expressed disappointment in Chitambala’s actions, highlighting the irresponsibility of damaging the tires without due consideration for the safety of the passengers aboard the minibus.
In delivering the ruling, Magistrate Mayambu emphasized that such behavior cannot be accepted by any society, stressing the need to send a warning to deter potential offenders from committing similar offenses. Despite Mr. Chitambala’s plea for leniency, citing being a first offender and a family man, the court considered the seriousness of the offense committed.
“Mr. Chitambala, the offense which you have committed carries a maximum of two years imprisonment, but taking note of your mitigation, I will give you a sentence of six months imprisonment effective today. You have the right to appeal to the high court if you are not happy with the judgment,” Magistrate Mayambu ruled.
Stop adding people to jails, they are overflowing.
6 months in Lusaka male prison? May his soul rest in peace. Nobody has sympathy for Chitambala, except me.
When you do crime, you must serve the time. It is amazing how some of you try dismiss crimes committed by your relatives
Whatever made this man to damage those tires cannot justfy the action of taking the law in his hands.
I’m sure he’s related to some muselela kwakaba politician and takes after that uncle of his.
LT HOW DOES THIS MAKE YOUR HEADLINES
UTTER NONSENSE
One thing I am missing on Lt is the previous and next story on top of the comments box.
The case of Chitambala Mwewa’s conviction for willfully damaging two motor vehicle tires belonging to another individual underscores the real consequences of trespass and property damage. His actions not only resulted in financial loss for the owner of the minibus but also posed a risk to the safety of the passengers. Such behavior highlights the need for the enforcement of trespassing laws to prevent similar incidents and protect the rights of property owners.
Furthermore, the magistrate’s expression of disappointment in Chitambala’s actions emphasizes the societal impact of irresponsible behavior towards private property. It is crucial for individuals to recognize the significance of respecting the property rights of others and to understand the potential repercussions of trespassing and causing damage.
The enforcement of trespassing laws plays a vital role in fostering a culture of respect for private property and encouraging individuals to invest in maintaining and securing their assets. The case of Chitambala Mwewa serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding these laws to protect the rights of property owners and promote responsible behavior within society.
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I have a lot of respect for chitambala………
Many a tycoons sons and daughters who were sent abroad for school come back as junkies and drunks ……..
He has however taken the Simpson building to the next level on his return ………
Ideal candidate for mayor of Lusaka……….
The law says you are guilty, be strong and weather the storm.
When Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula had a son with a mzungu lady, he sent the boy to Maala village in Namwala instead of UK where the boy’s mother came from. The reason was that he wanted Baldwin to learn the ways of his people and indeed, even in his death, Baldwin stands out as the most cultured of Nkumbula’s children. Chitambala is a child in an old man’s body. Simon Chushi Mwewa must be turning in his grave at the realization that mzungu education hasn’t made a man out of his son. His father left him everything but he lacks wisdom to turn things around. He wastes time on trivia, now he’s learnt lesson number 1
How and where you raise your children matters. One of the characters, like Simon Mwewa, sent his son to the UK for education at a boarding school. It seems as if the father ran out of money (since stealing the days of Kaunda was not easy), and had to return boy to Zambia and enroll him at UNZA. To cut a long story short, on more than one occasion, his roommate would wake up in the middle of the night, find his underwear taken off, and this ***** standing over him, with his erect pinis in his hands. Two roommates moved out, and finally the bugger was left alone in a room at the ruins. Those who were at UNZA at the time HH and I were undergrads remember the story and the fellow well. He was one of the student refs of the basketball team.
Spot on @Ayatollah. In fact the young brother, Bwalya, has a much better head on his shoulders than Simon. And he has a better work ethic and respect for others.
In my view the only mistake Bwalya made was looking after that f00l of his uncle Nevers Mumba when he’s own sister Mrs Mwewa refused to take him in when he was homeless. Hehehehe
No thank you. His father gutted the infrastructure of Lusaka. The drains stopped being cleaned, the water stopped flowing, the refuse piled up in the street. The decrepit Simonson building should have been demolised a long time ago. And no, we do not want all these characters you keep trying to impose on us. Let the bugger enjoy being the wife of long term prisoners in Chimbokaila
He forgot that in as much as he bootlicks hh and upnd, he is not a t0nga. As long as you are not t0nga they will never consider you one of them. Go and serve your sentence we prat it will help you reduce the size of those big butt0cks. Very inappropriate and unattractive for a man to have big nyash
I imagine if these buses had passengers, they probably were parked outside the building in which case the buses, though a nuisance, would have been in a public access area. I think the magistrate would have asked Mwewa to compensate the bus owners than a custodial sentence if the buses were inside his building. The private property issue doesn’t apply if this was the case. For me the big lesson is to stop ubu savage fwe bena Zambia. Lets not behave like animals or like Kaizer
Now this explains why chilufya Tayali has been very critical of PF he knows what’s coming to him as well maybe Mweetwa has struck a deal with him as he openly said he is behind the confusion going on in PF.Tayali keep singing for HH otherwise you are next
Whenever you PF criminals go and sleep with an underage prostitute, and acquire gonorrhoea, you blame UPND for not locating you in the ditch or overflowing pit latrine, where you were doing your illicit act, putting a condom on your little tools. No, thieves; you are responsible for what you do. You drink too much kachasu, soil yourselves as you crawl home, you blame UPND for you crapping on yourselves. Grow up
Does this really warrant a jail sentence?
Restitution to the injured party would have surely suffice.
Only this week the prison service was saying they were too many people in prisons and were asking the judiciary to look to impose non-custodial sentences and you have this.
Do some of these magistrates/judges live in the real world?
I agree with you, the offense does not warrant such a sentence. There is a way Mr Mwewa can be corrected instead of this course taken by the magistrate
Couldn’t this have been settled with a fine and community service? I do not see how productive this sentence is to a man that is obviously not a criminal! Is this not abuse of the legal system? Is this man a danger to society warranting such heavy handedness for this offense? This is a clear case where the judge can interpret the law reasonably instead of sticking to the letter. This sentence is clearly politically motivated given that Mr Mwewa has offended a lot of people with his ranting and commentaries on his blogs. However, the law is supposed to operate in a fair manner and the sentence has almost a civil dimension to it where this man was trying to make sure busses do not park on his premises.
True. A fine and 1000 hours of community service would have sufficed. Just give him a high visibility outfit and let him do some cleaning the area around Simoson building that’s all.
Continued:
He obviously acted unlawfully but I believe the Zambian judicial system can met out appropriate justice. This will send a wrong message about our legal system that it has become contaminated by politics. Zambians need a reliable third wing of govt that operates independently and not influenced by politics. This is abuse of the justice system and sets a wrong precedence. Perhaps Zambia is becoming dangerous for non-Tongas as someone above has alluded. Stop this mess!!
It is the PF caders in the judiciary wanting to fix him for supporting the UPND GRZ…….
As a first offender without any previous infringement with the law it would have made sense to give him a suspended sentence but because he is famous and the magistrate didn’t want to be seen as seemingly favoring him therefore he was handed a custodial sentence. Sometimes it’s a curse to be famous.
Just asking. Where does the magistrate originate from.
This case is a very serious case in as far as the health of our judiciary is concerned. If Zambians allow such abuse of the judiciary to be allowed, the next thing everyone is going to be affected as the judiciary becomes weaponized by some political entities, Zambians should rally behind this man and support him as he takes the case to the high court which will obviously overturn the sentence. I do not think he will have to go to the constitution court. Prisons are for criminals, it is that simple. I look forward to see him back making his videos and teaching us how to use English!
A fine would have been sufficient. We have criminals who are only spending hours in prison and you arrest someone on petty crime. A fine and community service would have been enough and I’m sure the mini bus owners would have preferred new tyres and spray paint for their bus.
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Those tribalists alluding to a tribal biased ruling………
Chitambala is a UPND GRZ supporter……..
I would say it is the PF tribal supremacists in the judiciary wanting to fix him for his not supporting the tribal theiving party………
And we all spell TYRE AS TIRE, WHY?
It will be interesting to see how bad the city market area will look in his absence. The bus operators will certainly miss him because there is definitely going to be a traffic gridlock in the area.