Claim
On 22nd May 2022, Zambian Eye uploaded an article on their Facebook page claiming the Zambia Police Service had exhumed the body of former National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Youth Chairperson, Mr. Obed Kasongo, who died in 2019 shortly after being assaulted in a political fracas between suspected PF members and NDC supporters during a Parliamentary by-election in Roan Constituency.
Social Media has been awash with reports that the Zambia Police had exhumed the body of Mr Kasongo so as to do a fresh autopsy report. The reports said the initial autopsy done in 2019 showed that Mr. Kasongo was treated for Hypertension and Severe Malaria, and that the deceased had viral infections and suffered from Pulmonary Edema which can be caused by viral infections such as the Hantavirus and Dengue virus, or exposure to certain toxins.
In 2019, the NDC rejected the postmortem report issued by a Government medical practitioner indicating that Mr. Kasongo died as a result of cardiac respiratory arrest. The NDC asserted that Mr. Kasongo suffered severe internal injuries after he was beaten by PF supporters in Luanshya on April 11, leading to his death.
Rating Justification
The fact checking process has determined as false, the claim by Zambian Eye and various media platforms that the Zambia Police Service had exhumed the body of former National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Youth Chairperson, Mr. Obed Kasongo, so as to do a fresh autopsy report. Mr. Kasongo died in 2019 shortly after being assaulted in a political fracas between suspected PF members and NDC supporters during a Parliamentary by-election in Roan Constituency.
In a statement published in the Daily Nation Zambia and other platforms, Zambia Police spokesperson, Rae Hamoonga refuted reports that they had exhumed the body of former National Democratic Congress -NDC youth Chairperson Obed Kasongo, stating that the news is fake as such occurrence never took place. In a phone call made by iVerify to Zambia Police Deputy Spokesperson, Mr. Danny Mwale could not comment further on the autopsy report done in 2019 as the case has been submitted to the National Prosecution Authority NPA for possible inquest holding.
Therefore, the claim by Zambian Eye and various media reports that the Zambia Police Service had exhumed the body of former National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Youth Chairperson, Mr. Obed Kasongo so as to do a fresh autopsy report, is false.
