Mary Sande of Mbona Village in Chikwawa District will never forget the death of her son last month.
The son, Baza, 34, was killed by people that were accusing him of using magic to remove human private parts.
He was one of the eight people that were brutally murdered in Nsanje and Chikwawa districts last month as people went wild at unfounded rumours of people’s private parts missing mysteriously.
On the day of Baza’s killing, May 8, 2026, Sande was heading to a funeral in a neighbouring village.
On the way, the minibus she was travelling in stopped at a place known as Nkhwangwa after the driver noticed a commotion of stone throwing from the main road.
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The passengers did not come out of the minibus. Through the window, Sande watched people mad with beastly rage mercilessly beating a person.
They then set him on fire.
The minibus proceeded. At the appropriate stage, Sande dropped off. Her husband had come early to the funeral.
Their son was coming to the funeral too. On a bicycle.
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While at the funeral, someone tipped the father that his son was being beaten. He rushed to the scene where he was also beaten but his son was already dead.
He returned to the funeral and reported to others that he could not stay.
He looked for his wife and told her.
“That was when I knew that the man I had witnessed being beaten and torched to death was my son,” said the mother, breaking down as she spoke with The Sunday Times at her home last week.
“Since that day, I struggle to sleep. I witnessed the killing. I was there when they torched him to death. I saw it.
“It would have been a different case if I had just heard about it. But I saw the horrific act taking place.”
The instigator of Baza’s killing told The Sunday Times on the day of the incident that he had encountered Baza around Nkhwangwa Primary School.
He was walking. Baza was on his bicycle and he greeted the boy, 18.
“When he greeted me, I felt goosebumps all over my body. When I checked in my trousers, I noticed that my manhood had reduced in size,” he told us.
However, three men who escorted us to the Baza’s home said they had inspected the boy’s private parts. They were intact.
While the boy has his private parts, the man who he accused of stealing them lost his life.
Killed brutally based on rumours.
Group Village Head Goma expressed sadness and urged people to refrain from violence.
“I am deeply troubled by this matter because people were targeted on fabricated accusations.
“They were taking the law into their own hands, and that’s not how it should be,” he said.
Clinical psychologist Chiwoza Bandawe said people exposed to violent acts are likely to be affected for a long time.
“When you see an event that is very traumatic or heartbreaking, it stays with you and keeps playing over and over.
“That can be part of a trauma response. It can occupy your thoughts and lead to sleep difficulties,” he said.
In two weeks, 8 people were killed. Police arrested 92 people; 27 have been charged with murder, 30 were set free as they were found with no case to answer.
Back to Sande, she told us she is struggling to come to terms with the death of his son.
She described Baza as a reliable man. He ran errands for his parents without complaining. His mother and father looked up to him.
Sande wished people had taken him to nearby Ngabu Police Station if they had issues with him, instead of killing him.
His departure disables them.
“Taking him away has cut off our hands,” she said.
So, what would she do if given a chance to face her son’s alleged killers? We asked her.
“I have already forgiven them,” she said.
She said many might have been involved in the killing ignorantly, just following mob action.
“I am appealing to all Malawians to stop this malpractice [mob justice],” Sande said.
