A 34-year-old Nigerian, Nathaniel Barthram, and his Zambian girlfriend, Maria Zaloumis, have been arraigned alongside three others over the death of a 22-year-old man, Enoch Kasengele, in Kabwe, Zambia.
According to a report by the Lusaka Times on Tuesday, the case has been transferred to the High Court for trial after a Kabwe Magistrates’ Court reduced the charge from murder to manslaughter and granted the defendants bail.
Other accused persons named in the report include Daniel Chiluwa, Fortune Mwitangati, and Gift Daka.
They were alleged to have committed the offence on August 17 at Onani Farm in Kabwe.
Barthram, said to be a Nigerian national residing at Tuzini Farm, and Zaloumis, a farmer at Wonani Farm, were reportedly in a relationship at the time of the incident.
The deceased, Kasengele, was a resident along the Kabwe–Lusaka Road before his death.
An earlier report by The Mast on September 23 stated that the suspects first appeared before the Kabwe Magistrates’ Court in connection with Kasengele’s death. The Zambian Police Service had initially charged the five suspects with murder on August 28.
“You are all charged with one count of murder of 22-year-old Enock Simfukwe Kasengele on August 17, 2025, contrary to Section 200, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
You are expected to appear again for another mention on October 6, 2025, as we await consent from the office of the DPP,” Magistrate Wamundila Liswaniso had stated at the time.
The suspects were subsequently remanded at the Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility pending further hearing.
When the matter came up on Monday, Lusaka Times reported that State Advocate Joseph Zimba informed the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided to reduce the charge from murder to manslaughter.
Following the development, the defence counsel applied for bail, arguing that manslaughter is a bailable offence and that the accused were willing to comply with all conditions.
The court granted the request, directing Barthram to surrender his Nigerian passport and ordering each of the accused to post bail of K20,000 with two traceable civil servant sureties.
The incident adds to recent reports involving Nigerians facing legal issues abroad.
Earlier in February, PUNCH Metro reported that a Nigerian identified as Adiyako Masaliyo was beaten to death in Bhagaluru, India, after an alleged drug-related dispute.