A 34-year-old Nigerian man, Nathaniel Barthram, and his girlfriend, Maria Zaloumis, have been charged in Zambia over the death of a 22-year-old man, Enoch Kasengele.
According to reports from Zambia on Tuesday, the case has been transferred to the High Court for trial after the Kabwe Magistrate’s Court reduced the initial charge of murder to manslaughter and granted the suspects bail.
Barthram and Zaloumis are among five people accused of committing the offence at Onani Farm in Kabwe on August 17. The other suspects were identified as Daniel Chiluwa, Fortune Mwitangati, and Gift Daka.
Kasengele was reportedly a resident along the Kabwe-Lusaka Road before his alleged killing. Barthram, a Nigerian national living at Tuzini Farm, and Zaloumis, a farmer residing at Wonani Farm, were said to have been in a relationship at the time of the incident.
The suspects were initially charged with murder by the Zambian Police Service on August 28, following the victim’s death. When they first appeared in court, Magistrate Wamundila Liswaniso read the charge, stating:
“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.”
After their arraignment, the accused were remanded at the Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility pending consent from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
However, during the most recent hearing, State Advocate Joseph Zimba informed the court that the DPP had decided to downgrade the charge from murder to manslaughter.
Following this development, the defence counsel applied for bail, arguing that manslaughter “is a bailable offence” and that the accused were prepared to comply with all conditions.
The court granted bail of K20,000 each, with “two traceable civil servant sureties per accused.” The state also requested that Barthram surrender his Nigerian passport as part of the bail conditions.
The case, which has drawn public attention in Zambia, is expected to continue at the High Court in the coming weeks.
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