The most shocking element of a death now under police investigation in Zambia’s Eastern Province is not that a man died—it is how he got there. A married man left home claiming he was going to do legitimate piecework at a farm, then spent the night at another woman’s residence after drinking local alcohol with a friend.
Eastern Province Police Commanding Officer Robertson Mweemba says the incident occurred in Sinda District yesterday. He identified the deceased as 50-year-old Julius Mwale, who died at the residence of a woman only identified as Anna. Police have opened an inquiry file and the body has been taken to St. Francis Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem to determine the exact cause of death.
He left for ‘piecework’—then ended up at a girlfriend’s home
Mweemba says Mwale left his home on Saturday at around 07:00 hours. He told his wife, Tasila Tembo, that he was going to do piecework at a farm with his friend, Gezani Banda.
But police say the “piecework” Mwale referred to was not agricultural labour. It was a euphemism for sexual access—an arrangement that led him to Anna’s home with Gezani.
Upon arrival, police say Mwale discarded a BP machine and began preparing for what he believed would be a private night with his girlfriend. He consumed a local beverage called Score, while Gezani remained present.
Before the situation turned fatal, police say Mwale dismantled a portion of staple food and later bought four bottles of Kachasu beer. Gezani’s account to police describes drinking that was intended to “prepare” for the night’s sexual encounter.
Police say Anna also had a bottle of Score, which she gave to Mwale. The arrangement suggests the alcohol was not incidental—it was part of the plan for the night.
After drinking, police say the trio left the place briefly. Mwale then told his friends that he would spend the night at Anna’s home so he could help her guard maize she keeps outside her house after cultivating.
Anna woke to snoring, alerted a village headman, and police found him sitting
At about 02:00 hours, Anna woke up to what police describe as an “outrageous snore.” She initially became convinced the man was simply asleep, but when the snoring persisted she became frightened and rushed to wake the village headman.
The headman informed Mwale’s relatives and reported the matter to police. Officers visited the scene and found Mwale sitting.
Police say the body was inspected and had no physical injuries. Mwale’s relatives were informed, and the body was collected and deposited into St. Francis Hospital mortuary pending post-mortem results to ascertain the exact cause of death. The inquiry file has since been opened.
For investigators, the case is not just about a death—it is about a chain of decisions that ended with a man found sitting in a private home after deception, alcohol consumption, and an apparent breakdown of boundaries within a marriage.
The post-mortem will be critical because police already state there were no visible physical injuries at the scene. That means the cause of death—whether medical, alcohol-related, or otherwise—will depend on findings from the autopsy and any toxicology results.
Police will also scrutinize the chronology of the night: what Mwale consumed, what was taken from Anna’s home, who left and returned, and whether the timeline provided by Gezani matches what investigators can establish from the scene and medical findings.
In the meantime, the wife, Tasila Tembo, is left with the harshest outcome of betrayal and secrecy: a husband’s death far from home, discovered only after the night’s private arrangement collapsed into fear and alarm.
