By Francis Chipalo
A two-year-old male child in Lusaka’s New Kasama has died after being mauled by dogs.
The vicious beasts belong to Colonel Webster Simwanda (Retired) who reported that his four dogs mauled to death a two-year-old child named Prosper Hamaleya, the son of Gift Hamaleya, a caretaker at a neighbouring plot in the area.
Police assistant public relations officer, Godfrey Chilabi says investigations have revealed that on May 23, 2025, around 06:00 hours, Col. Simwanda left his premises, leaving the four dogs unsecured and roaming freely in the yard.
Chilabi explains that the suspect’s main gate was not locked, consequently, the deceased child and his elder sister, aged 4, managed to open the gate and enter the premises to look for water.
“Upon entering, the dogs attacked and mauled the child, who sustained multiple deep cuts across the body. He was rushed to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), where medical personnel pronounced him dead on arrival,” Chilabi has told the media in a statement.
He said Col. Simwanda, is detained in police custody as investigations into possible charges of manslaughter and reckless or negligent acts leading to the loss of life have been instituted.
“In addition, police have engaged the Lusaka City Council in securing the dogs involved in the incident, as part of the ongoing investigations,” he said.
The body of the victim has since been deposited in the morgue at UTH awaiting postmortem.
