‘I only admired their marriage,’ 72-year-old denies affair with late Lt Gen Shikapwasha

Prisca Daka, a 72-year-old widow and former secretary, has denied ever having an intimate relationship with the late Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha, testifying in the Lusaka High Court that she only admired the union he shared with his wife, Prophetess Jane Lusengo.

Taking the stand in a murder trial that has captivated the nation, Daka described her relationship with the couple as spiritual and familial, not romantic.

Lusengo stands accused of murdering her husband, the former Zambia Air Force Commander, with a double-barrelled gun.

Read more: Allegations of infidelity rocks trial of Lusengo, as daughter claims late Shikapwasha fathered 5 children out of wedlock

“I used to admire their marriage—the way they related,” Daka told the court.

“For the first three years, I didn’t notice anything wrong. But in the last two years, there were disagreements. Mama [Lusengo] would come and say, ‘Let’s pray for my husband.’”

Daka, who moved into a cottage at the couple’s Ibex Hill property in 2019 after falling on hard times, said the arrangement was meant to help her save money while completing her house in Chalala.

She said she had known the Shikapwashas for years through church and served as a secretary and elder in their ministry.

“We were like sisters,” Daka said of Lusengo. “Even before I moved in, I used to spend weekends there. We prayed together.”

But when conflict arose between the couple, Daka said she was frequently called upon to mediate.

She also described a confrontation involving the late General.

“He came to my cottage with Mama and said, ‘Amai Daka, sit with your mother. I am not happy with her,’ and accused her of dishonesty.”

One of the more dramatic moments in her testimony came when she recalled discovering torn pages in the couple’s bedroom after the General’s death—pages she identified as part of a bill of divorcement.

She claimed she picked them up at the request of Vanessa, the General’s daughter.

Prosecutors suggested there might have been a plot involving Vanessa to implicate Lusengo in the murder.

Daka denied the allegation.

“Isn’t it true that you and Vanessa prepared this document that night to frame the accused?” asked the prosecution.

“Not true,” Daka responded.

She also denied hearing of any resentment from Vanessa toward her stepmother or having knowledge of the General conducting midnight patrols at the residence.

Pressed by defence lawyer Gilbert Pindani on whether her bond with the General went beyond that of pastor and congregant, Daka was emphatic.

“No,” she said. “He was a spiritual father. That was it.”

The trial continues next month.

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