Zambian Woman Convicted Of Trafficking Cocaine Dies In Ethiopian Jail

A 46-year-old Zambian woman who was recently sentenced to five years imprisonment in Ethiopia for drug trafficking has died after suffering a partial stroke.

Penelope Munge from Itawa in Ndola died on Sunday 24th July, Zambia’s Chare d’Affaires to Ethiopia, Trevor Sichombo told reporters.

Ms Munge had previously been admitted to the Addis Ababa Burn Emergency Trauma Hospital earlier in the month but was later discharged and readmitted to the clinic at Kaliti maximum security prison.

Her family have been informed of her untimely death and the Zambian embassy is currently in negotiations to repatriate her remains.

Ms Munge was sentenced on 21st June for possessing 2.2kg of cocaine, which was implanted in her body.

The Zambian woman plead for leniency, arguing that it was her first offence and that she had to look after her children as she was a divorcee. She also said she suffered from chronic hypertension which needed consistent medical attention.

However, the Ethiopian High Court ruled that drug trafficking cases had become too common and were posing a danger to society. The judge therefore passed a custodial sentence to deter others from committing a similar crime.

Kaliti is Ethiopia’s main prison, located 11km south of central Addis Ababa. It is commonly referred to as a gulag on account of its poor living conditions and cells made of sheet-metal shacks arranged in a dense maze.