By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Zambian police authorities have reported that a drunken officer freed at least 13 suspects from lawful custody to enable them to celebrate the New Year.
Phiri, “in a state of intoxication, forcibly seized cell keys” from Constable Serah Banda on New Year’s Eve, police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said in a statement, referring to the officer as Detective Inspector Titus Phiri.
“Subsequently, Detective Inspector Phiri unlocked both the male and female cells and instructed the suspects to leave, stating they were free to cross over into the New Year,” the spokesperson stated.
Detective Inspector Titus Phiri has since been detained after releasing the suspects from Leonard Cheelo Police Station in the capital, Lusaka, before fleeing himself.
Police authorities added, “Out of the 15 suspects in custody, 13 escaped. Following the incident, the officer fled the scene.”
The 13 fleeing suspects were accused of crimes such as assault, robbery, and burglary. A manhunt has been launched to re-arrest them.
Former presidential spokesperson and lawyer Dickson Jere reacted to the incident on Facebook.
He wrote, “I keep laughing each time I picture the scenario – comical! But then, I remembered a similar incident in 1997.”
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” he added.
Jere referred to a New Year’s Eve incident in 1997, when a controversial High Court Judge, Kabazo Chanda, now deceased, ordered the release of 53 suspects, some considered dangerous by the police.
The judge was angered because the suspects had been in custody since 1992 without being arraigned.
