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A witness has given an emotional account of the moments surrounding the fatal shooting of former Zambia Air Force (ZAF) Commander, Ronald Shikapwasha, allegedly at the hands of his wife, Jane Lusengo.
Prisca Banda Daka, a 72-year-old state witness, described the scene inside the couple’s bedroom, where she and Shikapwasha’s daughter, Vanessa, held hands in prayer while Lusengo paced restlessly.
Testifying before Judge Conceptor Zulu, Daka recalled Lusengo’s words in the aftermath of the shooting:
“Mai Daka, you know your father’s moods. He told me we wouldn’t have dinner until I confessed. After that… I don’t know what happened. I saw him fall to the floor.”
Shikapwasha, a Reverend Bishop at Jesus Is Life Church, was shot on January 15, 2024, inside the couple’s Ibex Hill home. He succumbed to his injuries shortly after.
Daka, a retired secretary who lived in a cottage on the property, said she received a distressing call from Vanessa on the night of the incident.
“Dad has been shot. We are rushing to Maina Soko Military Hospital,” Vanessa told her in a panic.
When Daka rushed to the main house, she found the couple’s grandchildren frightened and confused. They described hearing a loud noise from their grandparents’ bedroom, followed by Lusengo calling out for Vanessa.
The next morning, when Lusengo returned home to freshen up before heading back to the hospital, Daka was asked to stay with her.
Seated in the matrimonial bedroom for the first time, Daka cautiously asked Lusengo what had really happened.
Instead of a direct response, Lusengo handed her a long-sleeved shirt and asked her to pray over it. As she and Vanessa held hands in prayer, Lusengo moved restlessly around the room before picking up a notebook.
Daka paid little attention—until later, when Vanessa asked her to retrieve some papers from the foot of the bed.
She discovered a chilling document: a Certificate of Divorcement dated January 13, 2024, bearing the full name and signature of the late Shikapwasha.
Before she could process what she was holding, the bedroom door suddenly burst open.
Daka said former First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa stormed in, her voice sharp and commanding:
“What are you doing in this room? This is a crime scene! Get out, you’re not supposed to be here. The police are outside.”
The matter has been adjourned to Monday, April 7, for further proceedings.
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