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Evidence has emerged that George Kalaba, whose skeletal remains were discovered on his matrimonial bed over a year after his death, used to complain of mistreatment from his wife but he also heavily abused locally brewed spirits known as kachasu.
The revelations were made in the Lusaka High Court where Kalaba’s wife, Sylvia Mutaba, is facing a charge of manslaughter in connection with his death.
Kalaba, a former footballer and assistant coach at Luangwa Football Club, was last seen in November 2023.
Read more: Kalaba’s daughters, family friend jailed for concealing death
His decomposed remains were only discovered on January 14, 2025, in the couple’s home in Garden House, Lusaka.
Testifying before the court, childhood friend Patrick Banda said Kalaba once came to his house limping and complained about being assaulted by his wife.
“He said she hit him with a stool,” Banda told the court. “He told me he wasn’t being treated well at home.”
However, under cross-examination by Legal Aid lawyer, Jason Matende, Banda admitted he never witnessed the alleged abuse, did not report it, and had not mentioned it in his police statement.
He admitted that his claim only came up in court.
Other witnesses, including real estate agent Kelvin Ngosa, testified that Kalaba had no mobile phone and relied on his wife for communication.
Ngosa said that in 2024, he tried repeatedly to check on Kalaba’s wellbeing but was blocked by Mutaba after she gave inconsistent accounts of her husband’s whereabouts.
“In October 2024, I passed by his home, and the wife claimed he had gone to the bar with a friend,” Ngosa said. “But there was only one road, and I never saw him.”
Ngosa added that Kalaba drank heavily and regularly consumed kachasu, a potent illicit brew popular in Lusaka’s townships.
Another witness, Harrison Wasa, told the court that in September 2023, he visited Kalaba, who appeared ill and weak. Wasa said Kalaba’s wife claimed they were waiting for his brother to take him to the hospital.
“I even sent K120 via mobile money to help buy him a drink,” Wasa testified, adding, “But later, we were shocked to learn his remains had been discovered in the house.”
The prosecution accuses Mutaba of failing to report her husband’s death and continuing to live in the house where his body decomposed on the bed.
Mutaba has pleaded not guilty. The trial continues on September 16, 2025.
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