A senior officer at Chipata Central Police Station is nursing serious injuries after being stabbed with a knife allegedly by his son in the neck and chest. Eastern Province Deputy Commissioner of Police Geoffrey Kunda said in an interview yesterday that the incident happened on Thursday around 09:20 hours. Mr Kunda named the victim as chief inspector Kenneth Chihana, 54, of Chipata Central Police Camp. He said Mr Chihana was stabbed three times in the chest and once in the neck by 24-year-old Benson Chihana.

“Yes, our criminal investigations officer at Chipata Central Police Station was stabbed three times in the neck by his son,” Mr Kunda said. Mr Chihana is admitted to Chipata Central Hospital, where he is receiving treatment. He was stabbed as he was eating a pawpaw at his residence. Benson is in police custody and he will be charged with attempted murder, depending on the outcome of investigations. Mr Kunda said last week, Benson attempted to strangle his mother for unknown reasons.

He said it is unfortunate that a son can turn against his parents for unknown reasons. Investigations by the Daily Mail indicate that Benson has allegedly been abusing drugs. According to his friends, who declined to be named, Benson allegedly smokes marijuana and has been abusing codeine.

Benson allegedly dropped out of school in Grade 11 due to drug abuse. Meanwhile, smugglers at Kasumbalesa border post on Thursday nearly fought with police officers who had confiscated their mealie-meal and in the process a loaded firearm accidentally discharged and wounded two of the illegal traders.

This was after police officers from the anti-smuggling squad were intercepting people who were smuggling mealie-meal into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using bicycles. Government has deployed security officers at Kasumbalesa border, where they have intensified patrols in an effort to curb the illegal mealie-meal trade.

On Thursday, two local people sustained gunshot wounds after being involved in a scuffle with police officers. Chilufya Mutale, 21, of Poor People’s township at Kasumbalesa, and his nephew, Peter Nkandu, 16, were ferrying bags of mealie-meal to the DRC when they were caught by police.

Nkandu and Mutale each had four bags of mealie-meal on their bicycles. Chililabombwe District Commissioner Paul Mulenga and Copperbelt Commissioner of Police Charity Katanga confirmed the seizure of the mealie-meal and the scuffle between the illegal traders and police officers. Mr Mulenga said police first apprehended Nkandu, who was following his uncle behind on another bicycle. Upon realising that his nephew had been apprehended, Mutale returned to try and rescue his nephew.

Mutale tried to fight the officers and even attempted to grab a gun from them but in the process the firearm discharged and a bullet hit him and his nephew. “Mutale was grazed by a bullet in the abdomen while his nephew was hit on the ankle,” he said. Mutale and Nkandu are admitted to Nchanga-North Hospital. Provincial medical officer Robert Zulu said the two patients are recuperating well.

Dr Zulu said one of them was taken to theatre and is responding well to treatment. “I am just from NchangaNorth Hospital and our patients are doing well, they are not in danger,” he said.