Nigerian man and his girlfriend charged in Zambian court over death of 22-year-old man

Thursday, October 9, 2025 - A 34-year-old Nigerian man, Nathaniel Barthram, and four others, including his girlfriend, Maria Zileni Zaloumis, have been charged over the d3ath of a 22-year-old man, Enoch Simfukwe Kasengele, in Zambia.

According to a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, Simfukwe's mother alleges that her son was unlawfully confined, tortured, and ultimately d!ed on August 17, 2025, due to a brain contusion, as confirmed by a postmortem report. 

The family claims that a video circulating on social media shows Simfukwe in visible agony, tied with ropes and violently beaten while being interrogated by the accused. She asserts that this brutal treatment directly led to her son's untimely d3ath.

According to a report by Lusaka Times on Tuesday, the case has been transferred to the High Court for trial after a Kabwe Magistrate’s Court reduced the charge from m8rder to manslaughter and granted the suspects bail.

Other suspects including Zaloumis, Daniel Chiluwa, Fortune Mwitangati, and Gift Daka, were all accused of committing the offence at Onani Farm in Kabwe on August 17 

While Kasengele was said to be a resident along the Kabwe-Lusaka Road before he was allegedly k!lled, Barthram, the Nigerian national living at Tuzini Farm, and Zaloumis, a farmer residing at Wonani Farm, were said to have been in a relationship.

In an earlier report published on September 23 by The Mast, another Zambian news outlet, the suspects made their first appearance before the Kabwe Magistrates’ Court in connection with the death of Kasengele.

The Zambian Police Service had reportedly charged the five suspects with m8rder on August 28 following the victim’s d3ath.

“You are all charged with one count of m8rder of 22-year-old Enock Simfukwe Kasengele on August 17, 2025, contrary to Section 200 Chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia," Magistrate Wamundila Liswaniso had read the charge.

“You are expected to appear again for another mention on October 6, 2025, as we await consent from the office of the DPP.”

The suspects were subsequently remanded at the Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility pending further hearing.

When the case came up again on Monday, the Lusaka Times reported that State Advocate Joseph Zimba informed the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided to reduce the charge from m8rder to manslaughter.

Following the development, the report added that the defence lawyers applied for bail, arguing that manslaughter “is a bailable offence” and that the accused were ready to meet all bail conditions.

The court agreed, with the state only requesting that Barthram surrender his Nigerian passport.

According to the report, Magistrate Liswaniso then granted bail of K20,000 each, with “two traceable civil servant sureties per accused.