Mob loots suspected murderer’s shop

LINDA SOKO TEMBO writes

AN ANGRY mob yesterday attacked and looted the shop of an entrepreneur of Lusaka’s Mtendere East Compound who gruesomely killed his young girlfriend and dumped her remains in another part of the capital city last Monday.

Crispin Kawanga lured the girl, a Grade 9 pupil, by calling her on her mobile phone. When she arrived at his home he murdered her, sliced her body to pieces, packed them in a sack and dumped them in a drainage in Salama Park area.

A neighbour, who was an eyewitness, said angry residents looted and destroyed one of Kawanga’s shops for allegedly ending his lover’s life, Gertrude Lungu.

The looters found an assortment of charms in the shop. Charms found at the looted shop The Sun crew that visited Kawanga’s shop found it damaged with what residents described as charms at the entrance. 

Some of residents were shocked that the man could commit such a heinous crime because of his reserved demeanour. One resident said Kawanga was not the kind of person one would think could be a killer and that it was unfortunate that they had lived and interacted with someone who had no regard for human life.

In separate interviews, the residents expressed sadness at Kawanga’s barbaric action.

One of the vegetable traders, Florence Zulu, who trades next to Kawanga’s shop said she had no idea that she had been interacting with a devil and a killer. Below is a verbatim from the interview with the Sun:

The Sun: What is your name, madam, and what happened?  

Ms ZULU: I am Florence Zulu. I sell vegetables here. Crispin Kawanga enze neighbour wanga apa pa shop monga mwamene mwaonela. Day anamupaya uja mukazi ninamuona kuno.

“Kanabwela kamukazi kaja akagulila na drink but tinalibepo na idea ati afuna kukapaya. Awe uja mwamuna ali nankhama. Afuna akomboka, anayenda nako ife kuona monga bayenda kunyumba kansi ndiye kwenze kuyenda kupaya.

The Sun: What sort of a person is Crispin Kawanga? I mean how was his behaviour?

Ms ZULU: Mmmm….It is difficult to explain the kind of person Crispin was because he has shocked everyone. I did not expect that Crispin would do such a thing. Enze che munthu wamazii, sakumwa moba olo kupepa fwaka.

I think mamfwiti amakhala cabe humble. I saw the girl with him on April 19, but had no idea that the man had intensions of killing her. Ndife odabwa ife pano pa market. As traders, we had no idea that we were interacting with a wizard.

Another trader, Evans Chileya, said she saw the girl’s family when they went to get Crispin from his shop so that he could show them where he had taken their daughter. Outside looted shopWhat was left of the shop after angry residents raided it.Mr Chileya said according to the witchdoctor who was present that day Crispin killed the girl because he wanted to use her for rituals.

MR CHILEYA: Ing’anga yalilandile ati Crispin had approached him wanting charms to bath so that he would not have a ghost following him after he killed someone. So ulya umuntu alefwaya ukuwina.

The witchdoctor asked Crispin for the number of the person he wanted to kill so that he would kill her spiritually not knowing that he wanted to save the girl. But umwabela Lesa, Crispin left the number and the witchdoctor called the girl ukumuchinkula that her boyfriend wanted to kill her.

Unfortunately, the girl refused to believe what she was told and said the man could not kill her because he loved her very much.

The Sun crew also spoke to Crispin’s landlord, Justone Phiri, who said his tenant had been renting his house for a year and that they had no idea that he was capable of killing another human being.

Mr Phiri: When Crispin came looking for a house we were told that his wife was in Choma and that she had refused to come and live with him in Lusaka. He promised that when he found a girlfriend he would introduce her to us. As a family we did not expect the man could do such a thing.

He was a good man and paid his rentals on time. If he delayed it was only two days. Gertrude LunguSuspected murderer’s houseSuspected murderer, Crispin Kawanga Crispin came home with the family of the girl on April 21.

The girl’s family had beaten him when they came home. They told me that they wanted to check his house because their daughter was missing.

I got the keys from Crispin and we checked the house with the girl’s father. We did not find anyone and we locked the door. I got the keys because the person was going to the police. We were just surprised that her body, which had been sliced to pieces and packed in a sack, was found in a drainage in Salama Park.

The police came for the second time and we found stains of blood in the house and a sack full of different kinds of roots.

My wife saw the girl entering the house like she always had on April 19. Crispin had introduced us to his girlfriend and the neighbours knew that she was the girlfriend. She was free to come to his house and do some chores.

The girl even helped with cooking, cleaning and washing plates. We are really shocked that we housed a devil within ourselves. It is good he is exposed because he would have killed one of us.

Gertrude’s aunt said she was saddened that her niece had died in such a manner. She said the mother of the girl was suffering from a stroke and was heart-broken, and all they wanted was for justice to prevail. 

“Enze mwana wabwino na nzelu kusukulu. Ife sitinazibepo nakuti enze na boyfriend. Mulungu chabe ndiye aziba,” she said.

Kawanga is detained in police custody awaiting appearance in court.