A LUSAKA police constable accused of shooting dead a fellow cop yesterday told a judge that he did not intentionally kill his colleague but that the gun accidentally went off. Edwin Kabasiya, 35, said as he tried to catch his AK47 rifle which was about to fall, he heard the victim saying “Commander Kabasiya you have shot me”. This in a case Kabasiya is facing one count of murder. On January 4 this year, Kabasiya allegedly murdered Lenox Kapila, a police constable who was on duty at Munali Police Post.

It is alleged that Kabasiya shot Mr Kapila in Kaunda Square after he refused to arrest a technician who was repairing his [Kabasiya’s] television. After the incident which sparked public outrage, Kabasiya went into hiding until July this year when he handed himself to police in Chipata. He was charged with murder and taken to court were several witness testified against him leading to him being found with a case to answer.

Yesterday, the matter came up for defence before Lusaka High Court Judge Kazimbe Chenda. In defence, Kabasiya said the incident was an unfortunate. He said on the material day, he was manning the accounts room at Hybrid Farm in Chamba Valley. Kabasiya said while at the premises, his gun was cocked as he lay in readiness for an ambush. He said it started raining and became cold. Kabasiya then asked a Mr Mwale, a driver at the company, to drive him home to collect a jersey.

“I carried my gun and we drove to my place and when I reached home, I found the house locked. I telephoned my wife to find out her whereabouts,” he said. Kabasiya said his wife told him that she was at Munali Police Post reporting a case involving a television set. “Upon arriving at the police station, I found the deceased, who was my friend for three years. He [Kapila] explained to me that he had sent my wife to get a taxi so that they can follow the suspect [in the case involving the television set],” Kabasiya said. Kabasiya said at the time, he was carrying his AK 47 riffle which was hanging on his right shoulder as Kapila, who was also having a similar rifle, stood on his right side. The court heard that the two officers were chatting at the police post’s veranda. “When I was about to say goodbye, I decided to change the position of my gun from the right shoulder to the left,” Kabasiya said.

He said as he moved the gun, a sling clipped on two pens that were in his left pocket causing the firearm to start falling. “[When] I attempted to grab it, it went off,” Kabasiya narrated. I heard Kapila say, ‘Commander Kabasiya you have shot me,” he narrated. Kabasiya said a mob started throwing stones at him as he pointed the AK47 to his mouth threatening to shoot himself in an attempt to escape the angry crowd. He only fled after firing warning shots in the air. Kabasiya said he later fled to Chipata to allow the tense situation to calm down but that he later surrendered himself to police on July 9. He denied having any argument with the victim adding “We were friends. It was unfortunate that he was shot”