Man murdered for suspected witchcraft
Police in Ntcheu are keeping in custody three men for allegedly murdering a man suspected to have killed their relative through magic.
According to Ntcheu Police publicist, Hastings Chigalu, the three suspects, who are currently in police custody are Wilson Ligomeka, 31, and Mthiwani Million, 27, both from Njolomole Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Njolomole Ntcheu, and Wisikesi Yakobe, 24, of Donda Village, T/A Njolomole, Ntheu who on 23 March this year chased and stoned to death Wilson Thembachako, 30, of Donda Village T/A Njolomole, Ntcheu after a commotion erupted in the village during the funeral of their relative.
“The suspect was allegedly stoned to death as he ran away from his house which was set on fire by the suspects after they accused the deceased of practising withcraft,” Chigalu said.
He said the suspects also allegedly torched five other houses within the village in protest against the death of their relative.
Meanwhile, police in the district have disclosed they have managed to reduce murder cases in the first quarter of 2015 as only two cases have been reported as compared to eight recorded within the same period last year.
The reduction has been attributed to campaigns police are conducting in the area which has been notorious for being anti-police and taking the law into their own hands.
“When the incident happened in March, we did not make any arrests because the situation was volatile and we were chased by the angry villagers who wanted to burn the corpse. We had to run away to prevent chaos,” Chigalu said.
The suspects are expected to appear before court soon to answer murder and arson charges which is contrary to Section 337 of the same Penal Code.
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