By Kwalombota Mwanangombe
A 26-year-old promising football referee and Arsenal fan has died after allegedly committing suicide in police custody in Kazungula District, Southern Province, barely two months after losing her father.
Milimo Nchimunya Mpongo was discovered hanging in the female cells at Kazungula Police Station on August 28, 2026.
Southern Province Police Commanding Officer Moono Namalongo says the incident occurred between 07:00 hours and 08:00 hours.
Mr. Namalongo says Ms. Mpongo, of Makalanguzu Village, had been detained alone in connection with four separate theft complaints.
He explains that it is alleged that on August 27, 2026, between 14:00 hours and 16:00 hours, she visited four Airtel Money outlets in Kazungula and requested transactions ranging from K1,000 to K3,400 to be deposited into her mobile money account.
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Mr. Namalongo adds that Ms Mpongo allegedly claimed she had forgotten the cash at home after each transaction and left the premises.
He states that she was later apprehended and placed in police custody.
Mr. Namalongo says officers spoke to Ms Mpongo at about 07:00 hours the following morning and found her alive.
He says she was later discovered hanging in the female cells, using the chitenge material she was wearing, which had been tied to a window burglar bar.
Mr. Namalongo further adds that police informed her relatives, and the body was taken to Kazungula General Hospital, where she was certified dead.
He says her body was later transferred to the Livingstone University Teaching Hospital Mortuary for a postmortem examination as investigations into the circumstances surrounding her death are ongoing.
Ms Mpongo and her family buried her father on July 11, 2026.
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