BARELY two months after being sentenced to five years imprisonment for drug trafficking, Penelope Munge of Itawa Ndola has died in an Ethiopian jail.

The 46 year-old Zambian woman admitted to Addis Ababa Burn Emergency Trauma Hospital in the first week of July but was later discharged and readmitted to Kality Prison clinic where she later succumbed to stroke on Sunday.

Embassy of the Republic of Zambia in Ethiopia, Charge d’ Affaires, Trevor Sichombo, confirmed that Penelope Munge of Itawa Ndola died on Sunday, July 24, 2022 after suffering from a partial stroke.

In a statement issued by Inutu Mwanza, First Secretary-Press and Tourism at the Zambian Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sichombo said the family of Munge has since been informed of her untimely death and is already in Ethiopia making efforts to repatriate her remains.

Munge was sentenced to five years imprisonment on 21st June 2022 for being in possession of 2.2 kg of Cocaine, which was implanted in her body.

Before being sentenced Munge pleaded for leniency because she was a first offender who was also responsible for taking care of her children because she was a divorcee.

Munge also added that she had a chronic illness that needed consistent medical attention.

However, the Ethiopian High Court noted that drug trafficking cases had become common in that country therefore posing a danger to society hence they resolved to imposed the five years sentence to deter would-be offenders.