A 34-year-old Nigerian man, Nathaniel Barthram, and his girlfriend, Maria Zaloumis, have been arraigned in Zambia in connection with the death of a 22-year-old man, Enoch Kasengele.
According to reports from Kabwe, the case has been transferred to the High Court after the Magistrate’s Court reduced the initial charge from murder to manslaughter, following a directive from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Barthram and Zaloumis are among five people accused of committing the offence at Onani Farm, Kabwe, on August 17, 2025. The other co-defendants are Daniel Chiluwa, Fortune Mwitangati, and Gift Daka.
Investigations revealed that Kasengele, a resident along the Kabwe–Lusaka Road, was allegedly killed during an altercation involving the suspects. Barthram, a Nigerian national residing at Tuzini Farm, was reportedly in a romantic relationship with Zaloumis, a Zambian farmer based at Wonani Farm, at the time of the incident.
The Zambian Police Service initially charged the five suspects with murder on August 28, and they were remanded at Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility pending DPP consent.
However, during the most recent court sitting, State Advocate Joseph Zimba informed the Magistrate, Wamundila Liswaniso, that the DPP had downgraded the charge to manslaughter.
Following the adjustment, defence lawyers applied for bail, arguing that manslaughter is a bailable offence and that the accused were willing to meet all court-imposed conditions.
The court subsequently granted bail of K20,000 each, with two traceable civil servant sureties per accused.
As part of the conditions, Barthram was also ordered to surrender his Nigerian passport.
The case, which has drawn considerable public interest in Zambia, is now set to proceed to the High Court for trial in the coming weeks.
