A 34-year-old Nigerian national, Nathaniel Barthram, and his girlfriend, Maria Zaloumis, alongside three other suspects, have been formally charged with manslaughter in Zambia following the death of 22-year-old Enoch Simfukwe Kasengele.
The case, initially filed at the Kabwe Magistrate’s Court, has now been transferred to the High Court for trial after prosecutors downgraded the charge from murder to manslaughter, according to a report by Lusaka Times.
Barthram and Zaloumis are standing trial alongside Daniel Chiluwa, Fortune Mwitangati, and Gift Daka, who are all accused of involvement in the fatal incident that occurred on August 17, 2025, at Onani Farm in Kabwe.
The development paved the way for the court to grant the five defendants bail, each set at K20,000, with two traceable civil servant sureties per person. Barthram was also ordered to surrender his Nigerian passport to ensure he remains within Zambian jurisdiction.
State Advocate Joseph Zimba told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had reviewed the case and opted to substitute the murder charge—filed under Section 200, Chapter 87 of Zambia’s Penal Code—with manslaughter. Defence lawyers successfully argued that the lesser charge warranted bail, assuring the court of their clients’ cooperation.
According to earlier reports by The Mast, the suspects were first charged with murder on August 28 after police investigations and were remanded at Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility pending DPP consent.
Barthram, who resides at Tuzini Farm, and Zaloumis, a farmer at Wonani Farm, were reportedly in a romantic relationship. The deceased, Kasengele, was a resident along the Kabwe–Lusaka Road.
The case will now proceed to the Zambian High Court, where the accused are expected to face manslaughter charges in connection with Kasengele’s death.
