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Renowned Zambian musician and businessman, Elton Mulenga, popularly known as Yo Maps, has detailed a series of shocking allegations in the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court, accusing Facebook blogger Elias Musyani of cyberbullying and hate speech.
Testifying before the court, Mulenga recounted how Musyani targeted his wife, Kidist Kifle, with derogatory names, referring to her as a “prostitute” and a “witch” in multiple social media posts.
The online vitriol allegedly extended to the couple’s infant daughter, whom Musyani mockingly called gumugumu, a local term for a monitor lizard.
Mulenga testified that Musyani’s harassment spanned several months. He cited an incident on April 20, 2024, where Musyani posted threats of abduction and rape, claiming he knew the locations of Kidist’s gym and their child’s daycare. “He said he could come and rape my wife in front of me,” Mulenga told the court, his voice laden with frustration.
Despite an earlier attempt to resolve the issue amicably, Musyani allegedly continued his attacks, even posting recordings of phone conversations with Mulenga. “In that conversation, he called my wife a prostitute and threatened to send thugs to kidnap my child,” Mulenga said, adding that he had preserved evidence of the posts and conversations on his phone and a flash drive.
Musyani faces charges under Zambia’s Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act No. 2 of 2021, which seeks to curb online abuse and protect victims of cyberbullying.
While he has pleaded not guilty, the court denied his plea bargain request, setting the stage for a full trial.
The hearing has been adjourned to January 10, 2025, due to technical challenges in accessing audio evidence submitted by Mulenga.
The court noted the absence of an IT expert to facilitate playback of the recordings.
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