THE arrest of a 25-year-old man of Kitwe in connection with the murder of a Copperbelt University (CBU) lecturer has elated residents of Nkana West. And one mother recalls that her son almost died after Chiluba Mwale allegedly stabbed him with a knife in the chest. On Thursday, police arrested Mwale for allegedly killing Maximillian Mainza. Dr Mainza, who was head of the economics department at CBU, was stabbed in the chest as he was dropping off his female companion in Nkana West last week.

Dr Mainza reportedly died at the scene and her companion was allegedly raped by the suspect. Susan Sibeene, a close family friend of the Mwales, charges that the suspect is a notorious child who allegedly has a liking for knives. Mrs Sibeene, who resides close to the Mwales, said Mwale once stabbed her son in the chest but fortunately he survived. She said on January 11, 2015, they had a funeral at their house and Mwale, being a close family friend, went to console them. Mrs Sibeene said later Mwale asked her son to escort him to his (Mwale’s) home.

“When my son escorted Chiluba to his house, he attacked him with a knife, people heard him screaming for help and that was how he was rescued,” she said. Mrs Sibeene said Mwale was arrested for allegedly stabbing her son and the matter was taken to court but that Mwale’s mother pleaded to have the case dropped, accusing her of wanting to have her son jailed.

Mrs Sibeene said out of compassion, she asked that the case be dropped but that the magistrate presiding over the matter refused to do so “Since the magistrate refused to drop the case, I just stopped going to court and Chiluba was later released,” she said. Meanwhile, Kitwe District Commissioner Binwell Mpundu is concerned about the rising levels of crime in the city following four killings of people in the last one month. Mr Mpundu said he has so far received four reports of people who have been attacked and murdered with the most high-profile one being the one involving Dr Mainza.

Speaking during a press briefing yesterday, Mr Mpundu said there is no need to bury heads in the sand over the escalating levels of delinquency in the district. He said security wings are working round the clock to ensure that crime is supressed. “I am extremely saddened by the spate of crimes in the city, I think those of you who have followed my sentiments over this agree that there are criminal activities being reported in different parts of the city. “These range from people being attacked, some of these have ended up being admitted to ICU.

“This tells you the magnitude of the problem we are dealing with. I want to make it clear that there is no time for us to continue burying our heads in the sand and pretend that everything is okay,” Mr Mpundu sai