A 31-years-old Danish, Nkumba Ludovic Tshiembe, got only one year in prison sentence after killing 32-years-old off-duty police officer Christian Zedig, who was on vacation, in a fatal hard punch to left side of victim’s head or neck, during a Swedish World Cup big-screen event at Islands Brygge.
The unimaginable part of the sentence was that Tshiembe had previously been convicted of rape and serious violence, with an even more serious one in 2017 where he was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted murder after stabbing a man with a knife, according to The Intelligent.
Man with history of rape and violence gets one year in prison after killing off-duty on vacation police officer in fatal Copenhagen World Cup punch.
— RELISH WIRE NEWS (@relishwirenews) October 8, 2026
“It has ruined everything,” Zedig’s wife said.
The widow was among those in the audience when the verdict was read. Shortly before, with tears raining down her eyes, she described what the death of her husband had meant for her and her two daughters, Ekstra Bladet reported.
Ruhe in Frieden Christian Zedig 🕯️ Seine Töchter werden ohne ihren Vater aufwachsen, weil ein afrikanisch-stämmiger gewalttätiger Barbar sein Leben auf die brutalste Weise beendete. https://t.co/kfyqyVHrQd
— Tino Strußenberg 🇩🇪 (@MrStrusoAfD) July 3, 2026
The verdict which was delivered Wednesday, has since drawn comments from the country’s citizens and beyond, criticizing the judgment and further questioning how the justice system of these days seems to punish crimes with high gravity with less or hard justice.
Copenhagen City Court’s concern was nightlife, and it imposed a one-year nightlife ban on the sentenced murderer
The incident that led to the circumstances dates back to June 30, 2026, at about 8:45 p.m., when a misunderstanding in a Swedish World Cup big-screen event at Islands Brygge escalated, leading to Tshiembe throwing two beer cans at a group that included 32-year-old Christian Zedig, hitting another person, and then striking Zedig hard on the left side of the head and neck.
The blow caused him to fall. It fractured a cervical vertebra and tore the carotid artery, which led to a blood clot across the surface of his brain.
Zedig died three days later, Tshiembe was charged with repeated violence under Section 244 of the Criminal Code, cf. Section 247(1), and with assault for the beer cans. Because he had previously been convicted of various types of crimes against persons, the law allows the sentence to be increased by up to half, a point the police had noted when the case was filed.
On July 3, Tshiembe turned himself in and was produced for a constitutional hearing later that day and was remanded in custody, where he has remained.
At the start of the hearing on Oct. 7 he admitted to the charges and declined to make a final statement before the court retired to consider its decision.
In its reasoning the court pointed to the nature and circumstances of the incident, to Tshiembe’s aggressive conduct and his escalation of the confrontation, to his earlier convictions for serious crimes against persons and to the very serious consequences of the punch that killed Zedig.
Special prosecutor Søren Harbo had asked for at least one year. He argued Zedig had done nothing to deserve the punch and said it should count against Tshiembe that he had previously been convicted of a crime against a person and that Zedig died as a result of the assault. Defense lawyer Thomas Brædder argued the sentence should not exceed 10 months.
A claim for compensation was not decided at the hearing. It will be dealt with in a separate civil case.
