Zambia: Drunk cop released 13 prisoners on New Year’s Eve

Thirteen prisoners in one escaped on New Year’s Eve (31.12.2024) after a drunken police officer opened their cells and assured them that they were free to leave. The Zambian police officer, “in a state of drunkenness, violently grabbed the keys” of one of his colleagues and “unlocked the cell doors”, men and women in prison. ADVERSE “He told them to leave and that they are free to celebrate the arrival of the new year,” police said in a statement. Of the 15 prisoners in the cells in question, the 13 did not think about it… much: they rushed to disappear and are now “runners”, said a police spokesman, Rae Hamunga. Among these are people who have been convicted of serious crimes and “the fact that he left them may constitute a risk to public security,” he added. The 13 are being sought, but meanwhile the policeman who released them was arrested.