By Staff Writer
A 47-year-old man from Kawama Township in Kitwe set his house ablaze in the early hours of July 17, 2024, leaving nine family members with severe burns and a one-year-old toddler deceased.
According to reports, Albert Mubanga, 47, set his matrimonial house ablaze using an unknown substance, engulfing the property and leaving his family members with severe injuries.
Copperbelt Police Commissioner Peacewell Mweemba stated that the couple, Albert Mubanga and Beauty Mambwe, were legally married for several years but started experiencing marital problems in 2020, leading to a divorce in June 2024 at Garnetone Local Court. The court ruled that the two shops at Kamitondo market be shared equally, and the house be sold, with the money to be shared. The couple continued living together while searching for a buyer for the house.
On July 11, 2024, Albert Mubanga appealed the judgment, and the case was set to be heard on July 30, 2024, at Kitwe Subordinate Court. On July 15, 2024, Beauty Mambwe collected the rentals for the two shops and used the money, which angered her estranged husband. On July 17, 2024, he set the house ablaze using an unknown substance, burning property worth an unknown value to ashes.
The victims, admitted to Kitwe Teaching Hospital, include:
– Beauty Mambwe, 55
– Antonate Kalumba, 27
– Memory Mwale, 22
– Christine Mubanga, 19
– Harriet Chituti, 17
– Ruth Mubanga, 19
– Beauty Mambwe, 4
– Evans Mwansa, 6
Tragically, Evelyn Kena, the one-year-old granddaughter of Beauty Mambwe, succumbed to her burns at 06:30 hours this morning.
