Rape convict dies before sentence

The prosecutor Paul Chaluza said in court in the previous mention that when the police went to pick up Tembo, at prisons they were told he was sick. After the death, Chaluza applied for withdrawal of the matter. "We have since learned that the accused has passed away and we are applying for the case to be withdrawn," he said. 

After confirmation that the death certificate was available senior magistrate Peggy Hamoonga allowed the withdrawal. Tembo was ailing throughout his trial. He is said to have raped a woman in her 40s in early 2005 and the court learned that he was HIV positive at the time of the incident.