Lusaka | February 25, 2026 – Thirty-five-year-old physicist Dickson Musopelo has been found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm by the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court for attacking an army officer who discovered him in his matrimonial bedroom.
Magistrate Victoria Mututwa today convicted Musopelo following a full trial that heard how he assaulted Mr Chisha, an army officer, on the night of September 26, 2025. Evidence presented before the court established that Mr. Chisha returned to his bedroom after 22:00 hours to find Musopelo with his wife. The court was told that the wife had instructed Musopelo to hide in a wardrobe, but when discovery became inevitable, Musopelo punched Mr Chisha, inflicting bodily harm.
State Advocate Georgina Daka led the prosecution, presenting evidence that remained intact after rigorous cross-examination of the two witnesses called by the defence.
Musopelo’s sister, Martha Musopelo, testified that on September 27, 2025, her brother arrived at her home bleeding, with bruises on his left eye and two broken teeth. She stated that she rushed him to Kabwata Police Station for a medical report and later took him to the University Teaching Hospitals for treatment.
However, under cross-examination by Advocate Daka, Ms Musopelo admitted she was not present during the alleged assault and could not testify to what actually transpired. She also conceded that the medical report described Musopelo as stable.
The second defence witness, Dr Sithokozile Nandazi, who attended to Musopelo at the casualty department, testified that he complained of difficulty swallowing, jaw pain, a laceration above the eye, neck bruises, nausea and two broken teeth. She told the court that Musopelo reported having been hit during an altercation and briefly losing consciousness.
But under cross-examination, Dr Nandazi admitted that she conducted no specific examination on the broken teeth, presented no photographs or physical evidence of the injuries before court, and acknowledged that the injuries could have been caused by another person or even self-inflicted. She further confirmed that at the time of examination, Musopelo was stable and not bleeding.
Delivering judgment, Magistrate Mututwa found that the prosecution had proved all elements of the offence beyond reasonable doubt. The court determined that the defence failed to create any reasonable uncertainty regarding Musopelo’s guilt, and that the evidence clearly established that he assaulted Mr Chisha, causing actual bodily harm.
Musopelo now awaits sentencing, which will be pronounced in accordance with the law. The offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm carries penalties commensurate with the seriousness of violent conduct.
Follow us for updates on this developing story.