Outrage as stray bullet kills five-year-old girl in Nyanga
Community leaders demand urgent safety measures following the tragic death of a five-year-old girl, killed by a stray bullet in Nyanga.
Image: File image
A five-year-old girl was fatally shot by a stray bullet in Nyanga on Monday evening while walking to a shop with her aunt, igniting outrage and urgent calls for safety measures from community leaders.
The child was shot on Monday evening along Klipfontein Road, Lusaka, as gunfire erupted in the area shortly before 7pm.
According to a resident, the little girl had just left home with her aunt to buy groceries for supper when the shooting occurred.
“Her aunt asked her to go to the shop with her. They were not even 10 minutes out and there were three gunshots. The aunt carried the child, the bullet hit her in the back and came out the front,” said the resident.
With no ambulance immediately available, the family used private transport to rush her to KTC Day Hospital. However, she was declared dead on arrival.
The community member said an R4 rifle cartridge was later recovered from the scene.
Melokuhle Tshaka was murdered after she was hit by a stray bullet in Nyanga.
Image: Supplied
Police spokesperson, FC van Wyk, said: “Nyanga police registered a murder case following a shooting incident on July 28 at about 6:40pm at Klipfontein Road, Lusaka, Nyanga, where a 5-year-old child was shot and fatally wounded. Members were informed by hospital staff that the child had arrived with a gunshot wound to her upper body after being hit by a stray bullet while walking from the shop.”
Nyanga CPF secretary-general Dumisani Qwebe confirmed he was informed of the tragedy on Monday evening.
“We are saying again: we cannot allow these kids to be killed like this. It’s very challenging for the community. Whatever the problem was, it didn’t have to end with an innocent child being murdered like that. It’s like committing treason. If you kill a child, God will never forgive you,” he said.
Community Police Forum secretary-general Dumisani Qwebe speaks about the five-year-old girl who was hit by a stray bullet in Nyanga.
Image: Ayanda Ndamana/ Independent Media
No arrests have been made, and Qwebe warned that fear of retaliation is preventing residents from coming forward.
“People are scared to talk, scared they’ll be killed. That’s why there’ve been no arrests, not even in the two other child shooting cases in the past two months.”