Granny dog bite lands gardener in court

CHARLES MUSONDA Writes @SunZambian A 74-YEAR-OLD woman has testified that she was severely bitten by a vicious boerboel after a garden boy who was walking it failed to control the beast. In this case, Kelvin Maziba, 27, is charged with reckless and negligent acts contrary to Section 237 (d) and 238 of the Penal Code and particulars of offence are that on July 22, 2020 he omitted to take precautions against any prescribed danger from the dog which caused injuries on the victim Lillian Lamaswala in Lusaka’s Meanwood area. Ms. Lamaswala said on the material date she went to visit her aunt Jolly Moola in Meanwood after which the two went to buy airtime from a nearby makeshift stall. She said on their way back they saw Maziba coming from the opposition direction with a dangerous and vicious looking black dog. She told Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate Lameck Mwale that Ms. Moola asked Maziba to go back for the two old women to be safe but he refused and advised them to stand still as he promised to hold the dog on the leash. “To my surprise the dog came and knocked me down and bit me on the thigh and on the head. I must have fainted and after regaining conscious I noticed that the man had left. I struggled to walk as I was in severe pain,” Ms. Lamaswala said. She said after going back to her aunt’s home, the dog’s owner a Mr. Mulongo came and took her to Pearl of Health clinic where she was treated. She said due to the pain and heavy shock she suffered as a result of excessive bleeding, Ms. Moola called Mr. Mulongo to take her back to the hospital but that he never came on grounds that he was attending a funeral. Ms. Lamaswala said in the course of her treatment it was established that the dog’s vaccination certificate was expired as it was last vaccinated in June 2019. She said Mr. Mulongo had not been helpful and she was forced to spend over K20, 000 on her treatment and that she is unable to drive a manual motor vehicle for which she was trained when she got her driver’s license in 1972. In cross examination, Maziba said he did not have any question as Ms. Lamaswala had narrated the exact incident. However, Magistrate Mwale advised her to reconcile with Mr. Mulongo as he is not the one before court and that the offence Maziba is facing is a misdemeanor for which he can be fined, saying court fines are not for complainants but go to Government’s account control 99.