State witness tells court that Lusaka was impacted by narcotics

A state witness in the murder trial of Kiala Henri Lusaka has told the Suva High Court that Lusaka was impacted by narcotics and was bragging about manufacturing and selling methamphetamine on the 19th of July in 2019 when he had gone to his house.

Lusaka allegedly murdered his wife on 23rd July, 2019 in Suva.

Charles O'Hanlon, who was the Regional Security Advisor for the UN told the court that on the 19th of July at about 8.30am, Lusaka’s wife had come to his office in an alarmed state and had in her possession a photo of her spouse.

The photo also has a small picture of her in the bottom right hand corner.

He said that the spouse was bare chested, was holding a large kitchen knife in front of his chest and was holding a finger in front of his face as if in a warning.

The witness said that the victim had a look of fright on her face.

He said he then called the police and asked for an appointment and later, he and a police officer had made their way to the victim’s residence.

O'Hanlon said that Lusaka had answered the door after he had banged on it several times.

He said he introduced himself and the police officer with him and stated that he had grave concerns about him, his wife and the three children.

The witness said that upon enquiring about why the children were not in school on a Friday, Lusaka responded aggressively.

He said he believed Lusaka was impacted by narcotics because his aggression was explosive, his eyes were dilated, he appeared to be highly alert and was bragging and ranting about having connections with police at a very high level and with the criminal types.

O'Hanlon said that as an Australian military officer and 21 years at the UN as a security adviser, he has had experiences with dealing with UN staff who were using or were addicted to narcotics, mainly methamphetamine.

He told the court he came back a second time to Lusaka's home during the day but he was not home and upon calling him, he said he was at Damodar City.

The witness said he managed to locate Lusaka at about 3pm where he and the police officer in plain clothes met Lusaka at his home.

He said Lusaka had politely invited them in and his aggression had seemed to have subsided.

O'Hanlon said that upon enquiring, Lusaka had said that he was in his car when he had gone to Western Union at Damodar City.

He said Lusaka had told him that he had laid low and had things to do and upon enquiring, he had stated that he had bought a live chicken from a local market and he had strangled the chicken in the backyard.

He said the officer had asked why he had not killed the chicken in the normal way, Lusaka had said he was afraid of blood and had then invited them to go to the verandah and offered them tea.

The witness said the children’s room was visible when going to the verandah and he could see a large pentagram on the floor of the bedroom.

O'Hanlon said that upon asking what it was for, Lusaka had said that the white man’s god is powerless and black magic is where the real power is and had then gone to make tea.

He said that when he returned with the tea, he was highly alert, bragging and ranting about manufacturing and selling methamphetamine in corporation with a powerful individual who owns a taxi service in Suva.

The witness said they had then left and decided to come at about 6.30pm to ensure that the children are being fed.

The trial continues before High Court Judge, Justice Vincent Perera.