Man jailed 5 years for brutal knife assault on 10-year-old boy

A 33-year-old security guard from Ngombe Township has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour for assaulting a 10-year-old boy using a knife, causing serious injuries that required 35 stitches.

Appearing before Lusaka Resident Magistrate, Mutinta Mwenya, Christopher Chitangala pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, stemming from an incident that occurred on April 22, 2025.

According to court records, the minor was sent by Chitangala to buy a sausage within Ngombe Township.

Upon returning, the child was lured into the convict’s house, where the door was locked behind him.

In chilling testimony presented by the prosecution, Chitangala allegedly asked the boy if he knew what it felt like to die. He then began assaulting the child, first banging his head against the wall, and later cutting him on the head, thighs, and hands with a knife.

The boy, terrified and bleeding, was rescued and received medical attention, which included 35 stitches.

During the hearing, Chitangala initially claimed he had only used a broomstick and that he was intoxicated at the time of the attack.

He also suggested the boy had stolen a phone and a portable radio, but admitted that the victim was not his child.

Magistrate Mwenya rejected intoxication as a defence and reminded the accused of the gravity of the offence, particularly considering the age of the victim.

“You do realize this is a 10-year-old child?” Magistrate Mwenya asked, to which Chitangala responded by apologizing and asking for leniency.

In mitigation, the accused claimed to be a student and expressed remorse, saying he had learned not to take the law into his own hands.

Passing sentence, Magistrate Mweny stressed the seriousness of the injuries inflicted and the need for deterrence, noting that the offence carried a mandatory minimum sentence.

“I will impose the minimum mandatory sentence under the law for assault on a child, which is five years imprisonment with hard labour, effective today,” she ruled.

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