Head of Zambia's Independent Broadcasting Authority found dead with gunshot wounds

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) – The head of Zambia's Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), who had gone missing the day before, was discovered dead on Wednesday with two bullet wounds in the head and back.

The government has ordered police to conduct a prompt investigation into the death of Guntila Muleya, for whom the family started searching on Tuesday after he failed to return to his home.

"The government has asked the police to quickly and thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding this unfortunate death," Thabo Kawana, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Media, told reporters in the capital Lusaka.

Muleya's family became concerned on Tuesday night, around 9:00 p.m. local time, when he did not return home, and they began looking for him, Kawana said.

"His body was discovered later today (Wednesday) in the Njolwe area with two gunshot wounds," he said.

Separately, Zambia police spokesman Rae Hamoonga said at around 10:30 a.m. local time, police received a phone call from a concerned member of the public in the Njolwe area on Lusaka's outskirts, who reported that during the night of Tuesday at around 20:00 hours, he saw a jeep with its doors open and then heard two gunshots.

"This morning (Wednesday) at approximately 10:00 a.m., on his way to work, he (the caller) discovered the body of a deceased on the ground with two bullet wounds on the back and head.

“A closer examination revealed a deep bullet wound in the forehead. Two bullet cartridges were recovered at the scene,'' Hamoonga explained.

He said a murder case has been registered, and that investigations are currently underway.