HEARTBREAKING: RYAN’S PARENTS RECOUNT THEIR SON’S PAINFUL DEATH AFTER BEING BADLY BEATEN BY TWINPALM SCHOOL BOYS
MOTHER of late Kabulonga Boys Secondary School pupil Ryan Phiri has told the Lusaka High Court that before breathing his last, her son informed her that Elvis Nsokolo and other pupils from Twin Palm Secondary school attacked him.
This is in a matter where Nsokolo is jointly charged with three other juveniles aged between 16 and 18 for the alleged murder of Ryan on December 4, 2020 during a fight.
Testifying before justice Sharon Newa, Sharon Syambizi narrated that on the material day, she was informed by her husband that her son had been admitted to University Teaching Hospital (UTH).
Ms Syambizi said she and her husband rushed to UTH and upon arrival, she introduced herself as the mother of Ryan, to which she was asked to identify her son.
The witness said her son was on an oxygen machine and that his beddings were stained with blood as he was bleeding from his mouth and head.
“I called his name but he did not answer. I became emotional and walked out and started wondering how my son found himself in such a state when I was with him in the morning and prepared him breakfast before he went to school,” Ms Syambizi narrated whilst sobbing.
“I went to the two men that had rushed him (Ryan) to hospital to inquire about what had happened to my son and one man told me someone heard someone scream as if he was being beaten in Malata compound. The man told me that he found my son surrounded by his attackers and that he managed to whisk him away as the boys seemed to be under the influence of something and he hid him (Ryan) behind the house.”
She said she gave the two men transport money and a token of appreciation for saving her son.
“I went back inside the ward and my son had gained conciousness and when he saw me, he called out to me and I asked him what transpired. He told me that he was lynched by a mob of Twin Palm Secondary school pupils. He said they beat him with golf sticks and that he could only recognise the headboy Elvis,” Ms Syambizi narrated.
“He asked if he had his legs as he felt numb and I told him he was okay and asked him (Ryan) to rest and that we would follow his assailants when he recovered. I wanted to walk out of the ward but he stopped me and asked me to be at his bedside. I started capturing him so that I could keep evidence with hope that he would recover and sit for his grade 12 exams.”
Ms Syambizi told the court that after scanning, the nurses asked her to give Ryan some food and her son requested that she gets him cupcakes, a drink and water.
“I fed him while his father went home to collect his clothes and blankets but he sipped some supershake once and he stopped because his mouth had sores and he was bleeding. He (Ryan) had difficulty in swallowing liquids. He started tossing in his bed and I noticed his feet had become cold. I ran to the nurses to ask for stockens but they said they had none. I could not go and get him socks because he continued tossing in his bed,” Ms Syambizi recounted.
“He messed up his beddings and a nurse noticed some blood in his stool to which she asked her colleagues if such was normal and they denied. I was told to go outside to allow medical personnel to attend to him.”
Ms Syambizi said she went back inside and found medical personnel had surrounded Ryan and they were conducting a cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him.
“I asked the doctors if he was okay but I was chased outside. Later, one of the nurses told me that they had tried their best to resuscitate my son but their efforts proved futile and that he had died,” recounted Ms Syambizi.
Earlier, Ryan’s father, Frank Phiri, told the court that on the material day, he received a phone call from a well wisher asking him whether he was Ryan’s father to which he confirmed, and he was informed that his son had been badly beaten.
He said he asked the man to take Ryan to UTH and that he would find them there.
Phiri said he informed his wife that their son was badly beaten and that they later proceeded to UTH.
He said he found his son surrounded by doctors and that he looked very tired.
“I noticed that he was bleeding profusely from the ear. I couldn’t hold myself and went outside. I told my wife to go and see for herself. Whilst I was outside, I started asking the man who called me what exactly happened to my son. He said he saw a group of boys beating my son and he was worried that they would kill him so he decided to intervene,” Mr Phiri said.
He narrated that when Ryan gained conciousness, he told him that he was beaten by boys from Twin Palm Secondary School and that the boys used golf sticks to attack him.
Mr Phiri said his son had bruises all over his body.
“I asked Ryan if he could identify any of the boys and he told him that he knew one boy who was a head boy from Twin Palm Secondary School. He died around 18:30 hours the same day,” said Mr Phiri.
Trial continues on March 17.