A Nigerian national based in Zambia, Nathaniel Barthram, and his girlfriend, Maria Zaloumis, have been arraigned alongside three others for manslaughter in connection with the death of a 22-year-old man, Enoch Kasengele.
According to a report by the Lusaka Times on Tuesday, the case has been transferred to the High Court for trial after a Kabwe Magistrate’s Court reduced the charge from murder to manslaughter and granted the accused persons bail.
Other suspects listed in the report, seen by PUNCH Metro on Wednesday, include Daniel Chiluwa, Fortune Mwitangati, and Gift Daka. The alleged offence reportedly took place on August 17 at Onani Farm in Kabwe.
While the deceased, Kasengele, was said to have lived along the Kabwe-Lusaka Road, Barthram, a 34-year-old Nigerian, reportedly resides at Tuzini Farm, while Zaloumis, a farmer, lives at Wonani Farm. Both were said to be in a romantic relationship at the time of the incident.
In an earlier report by The Mast, a Zambian newspaper, the suspects were first brought before the Kabwe Magistrate’s Court in September over the death of Kasengele.
The Zambian Police Service had initially charged the five with murder on August 28, following the death of the young man.
“You are all charged with one count of murder of 22-year-old Enock Simfukwe Kasengele on August 17, 2025, contrary to Section 200 Chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.
“You are expected to appear again for another mention on October 6, 2025, as we await consent from the office of the DPP,” Magistrate Wamundila Liswaniso had read the charge.
The accused persons were thereafter remanded at the Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility pending further proceedings.
When the case came up again on Monday, Lusaka Times reported that State Advocate Joseph Zimba informed the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided to downgrade the charge from murder to manslaughter.
Following the development, defence lawyers sought bail for their clients, arguing that manslaughter “is a bailable offence” and that the accused were prepared to comply with all bail conditions.
The court granted the application, directing Barthram to surrender his Nigerian passport. Each defendant was granted bail in the sum of K20,000, with “two traceable civil servant sureties per accused.”
