Drunken Policeman Frees 13 Suspects To Celebrate New Year

In an act that has left many shocked, a drunken policeman has freed 13 suspects from custody so that they could go and celebrate the new year.

Officials say Detective inspector Titus Phiri did the unthinkable at Leonard Cheelo police station in the Zambian capital of Lusaka, before running away himself.

A manhunt has now been launched to find the 13 accused of such crimes as assault, robbery and burglary.

Commenting on the action of the drunken policeman, Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said that Mr Phiri, “in a state of intoxication, forcibly seized cell keys” from Constable Serah Banda on New Year’s Eve.

“Subsequently, detective inspector Phiri unlocked both the male and female cells and instructed the suspects to leave, stating they were free to cross over into the New Year,” Daily Mail reports him as saying.

“Out of the 15 suspects in custody, 13 escaped. Following the incident, the officer fled the scene.”

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Mr Phiri has not yet commented on the allegations, but in his reaction, former presidential spokesperson and lawyer Dickson Jere wrote on Facebook: “I keep laughing each time I picture the scenario – comical! But then, I remembered a similar incident in 1997.”

On New Year’s Eve in 1997, the late, controversial High Court Judge Kabazo Chanda ordered the release of 53 suspects, some of whom were deemed dangerous by the police.

Mr Chanda was annoyed that the suspects had been arrested as long ago as 1992, but had not yet appeared in court. “Justice delayed, is justice denied,” he reportedly said.