Kabwe Double Murder: How a Stolen Phone Led Police to a 17 Year Old Suspect
The trail started with a missing phone.
When detectives investigating the deaths of two women in Kabwe traced a stolen Tecno handset belonging to one of the victims, they discovered that it had changed hands several times.
Each transaction brought them closer to the person suspected of killing the women.
According to information attributed to the Central Province Police Command, a 17 year old suspect was arrested in connection with the deaths of Gladness Nambuka, 20, and Patricia Michelo, 26.
The suspect reportedly confessed to the killings during police interrogation. Authorities are yet to present the case before court, and the allegations remain subject to the judicial process.
The morning the women disappeared
On August 8, 2026, 59 year old Charles Cheelo and other members of his household left their residence at Plot 8463 in Luangwa Extension Township, Kabwe, to attend church.
Nambuka, a second year student midwife at Kabwe School of Nursing, and Michelo, who worked as a live in house help at the same residence, remained behind.
When the family returned at around 18:30 hours, the house was dark.
The two women were missing, and their phones could not be reached.
A search of the property soon uncovered blood stained blankets, towels and clothing concealed behind a poultry structure.
The discovery led investigators to an approximately six metre deep water well on the property.
More bloodied blankets were found inside, with the bodies of the two women submerged beneath them.
The Kabwe Fire Brigade was called to retrieve the bodies, which reportedly had multiple deep cuts believed to have been inflicted with sharp objects.
The remains were taken to Kabwe Central Hospital Mortuary for post mortem examinations.
A stolen phone opens a new line of investigation
The investigation took a significant turn when detectives traced a Tecno mobile phone belonging to Nambuka.
Police reportedly located the handset in the possession of Chisenga Aswell, a 21 year old accounting student at Kwame Nkrumah University.
A 13 year old relative from the victims' household identified the phone as belonging to Nambuka.
Aswell reportedly told investigators that he had purchased it from Alick Mwale, 28, of Nagoli Compound.
Mwale was subsequently arrested and pointed detectives towards Mark Lupiya of Luangwa Compound.
Lupiya then reportedly led investigators to the original seller, identified in earlier police information as Chimwemwe Kaluba.
The sequence of transactions provided detectives with a trail to follow as they worked to establish who had taken the phone from the crime scene and how it had reached its latest owner.
The suspect's relationship with the victims
The primary suspect was subsequently identified as a 17 year old juvenile.
Accounts shared through Kalemba indicated that the teenager was known to the victims and their household.
He was reportedly a fellow church member and a Pathfinder within the Seventh day Adventist Church. He had also been staying at or frequently accessing the same residence where the women lived.
This connection became an important part of the investigation, as detectives sought to establish how the suspect could have entered the property and what had happened before the killings.
Police reportedly observed fresh scratches and bruises on the suspect's body when he was arrested.
Investigators suspected that the injuries could have been sustained during a struggle with the victims. DNA samples were reportedly collected for comparison with evidence recovered at the crime scene and from beneath the victims' fingernails.
The results of those examinations have not been provided in the information available for this report.
The alleged motive
According to the account of the investigation, the teenager confessed to killing the two women during police interrogation.
The suspect reportedly claimed that he committed the killings as part of an attempt to perform occult rituals intended to make him wealthy.
The alleged motive has not been independently established in court.
The deaths of Nambuka and Michelo have left two families mourning, while the investigation has raised questions about how the killings occurred inside a residence where the suspect was reportedly known.
The 17 year old remains in police custody, with authorities reportedly preparing murder and aggravated robbery charges.
The case is expected to proceed through the courts, where the allegations and evidence will be examined.
