By RABECCA CHIPANTA –

FORMER Defence minister George Mpombo and his son appeared in different courtrooms in Ndola yesterday amid armed police escort.
Hundreds of people thronged the court premises to follow the proceedings.
In the courtroom where Mpombo’s son appeared for the suspected murder of his 17-year-old girlfriend Ruth Phiri, a court marshal was forced to restrain the mother of the deceased girl as she attempted to ‘charge’ at the suspect before the matter proceeded for mention.
Armed police officers were forced to screen members of the public interested in hearing the proceedings as scores of people opted to follow the matter from the window sides.
After appearing before Magistrate Moffat Phiri, the juvenile was escorted to the waiting car with a multitude of people converging outside to get a glimpse of the suspect.
Mocking statements from relatives of the deceased girl directed at Mpombo’s son were part of the drama that characterised the scenario after the case was adjourned awaiting further instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The suspect will appear for another mention on March 10, this year.
Meanwhile, the case where the former Defence minister is charged with failing to secure a firearm linked to the murder of Ruth last month also commenced with a police detective testifying that  a wardrobe where the weapon was kept had been tampered with.
The detective, Evaristo Mwamba, 38, a sergeant, appeared before Ndola Principal Resident Magistrate Obbister Musukwa.
“On 22nd January I was assigned to investigate a case in which it was alleged that Mpombo had not secured his firearm properly. I took up the matter and summoned the suspect to our office for an interview, where he told me he was the owner of the firearm in question.
“I requested to visit his house. At his house, he led us to the master bedroom. There were two king-size beds and a wardrobe on the right. The doors to the wardrobe appeared to have been damaged because the key could not lock,” Mr Mwamba said.
He, however, told the court that from his investigations the firearm was not properly kept as the box containing the firearm had no lock and could easily be opened.
He said from his findings, he was not satisfied with Mpombo’s explanation and decided to arrest him on the charge of failing to secure a firearm.
“The box where the firearm was kept was not locked and it was not securely kept. It was supposed to be kept in a well-secured place with limited access to it.
“I asked when the wardrobe got broken and he explained that it was damaged by unknown people. There wasn’t any report made on the missing firearm,” Mr Mwamba said.
When asked by defence attorney Chimuka Magubwi of Magubwi and Associates what securing a firearm meant, Mr Mwamba said it should be kept in a safe and secure place.