3 including pregnant woman, beheaded in Lilongwe
RESIDENTS of Mitundu in Lilongwe on Friday experienced probably one of the biggest horrors after three people—a man, a pregnant woman and a girl—were found dead in a forest with their heads chopped off.
Lilongwe Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Kingsley Dandaula, confirmed the incident in an interview yesterday, saying the bodies were found in Bunda Forest by some cattle herders.
“Some children who were herding cattle found the three bodies which were without heads and immediately reported to some older people around the area who then informed the police at around 11 o’clock in the morning.
“After we got the information, our [Criminal Investigation Department] officers rushed to the scene where they indeed found the three bodies and took them to Kamuzu Central Hospital,” Dandaula said.
He dismissed reports that the woman had had other body parts, apart from the head, removed too.
He also indicated that it was not known where the heads had been taken to. By the time we went to press yesterday, the identities of the deceased had not yet been ascertained and Dandaula had indicated that investigations were still underway.
“The issue is a bit complicated and it is not known why these people have been killed. The victims have had their heads removed which is very strange. A postmortem will be conducted on the bodies to establish the cause of death,” Dandaula said.
Meanwhile, the National Advocacy Platform (Nap) has condemned government for apparently failing to ensure that people’s right to security is guaranteed. In an interview yesterday, Nap Chairperson, Benedicto Kondowe, said the series of security lapses that this country has witnessed in recent memory were supposed to prod government to put in place strict measures of protecting Malawians and their property.
“Day in and day out we are hearing or experiencing cases of security concerns. This is a matter that any responsible government must seriously think about. But perhaps they don’t care because those in high positions including the president are properly protected,” said Kondowe.
He added that the Malawi Police Service (MPS) continues being underresourced; a thing that he said is frustrating their efforts to optimally undertake their duties.
“There is a problem that has to be solved. The police sometimes fail to provide rapid response because of inadequate resources. Of course, there is also some kind of disconnect between the police and the communities.
“People are frustrated because the police are not helping them, so sometimes they even don’t report suspicious cases because they feel the police will not help them anyway,” Kondowe said.
In an incident a bit similar to the Lilongwe one, Police in Rumphi are keeping in custody a man identified as Lajab Byson in connection to the murder of a girl whose decomposed body was discovered in a bush.
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