High Court delays skeletal remains case

WHILE everyone was eager to see and hear the plea of the Lusaka woman who was found with her late husband’s skeletal remains, which she kept for almost two years after his supposed murder, the Lusaka High Court decided to postpone the case until today.

The case has been pushed to tomorrow for more proceedings.

Sylvia Mutaba, 52, is accused of manslaughter related to her husband, George Kalaba’s death.

She is charged alongside her three daughters, Wendy Kalaba, 27, Sandra Kalaba, 22, and Natasha Kalaba, 19, as well as a family friend, Preteria Musela, for not reporting Kalaba’s death.

The finding of Kalaba’s skeleton in their home in Lusaka’s Garden Luangwa Compound led to the arrest of Mutaba and her daughters in January this year.

Prosecutors claim that Mutaba caused Kalaba’s death sometime between July 1, 2023, and January 14, 2025.

Likewise, her daughters and Mutaba’s friend are accused of not reporting the death during the same period.

The case, overseen by Judge Anna Ononuju, hit a pause this morning when a juvenile, who wasn’t originally listed in the charges, was mentioned by the court.

The State admitted they didn’t know the juvenile was there and asked for a break to sort things out.

However, the defense disagreed with the break, saying that a nolle prosequi (a formal notice of abandonment by a prosecutor) had been filed for the juvenile, which they claimed was public information.

“Can we please adjourn this matter to reconcile the records?” the defense asked, wanting to postpone until tomorrow to check if the nolle prosequi was actually filed.

The State agreed to the adjournment, saying they were unaware of any nolle prosequi for the juvenile.

Earlier in the proceedings at the lower court, Resident Magistrate Constance Kansankala had released a juvenile suspect.