A 72 year old man, Simeon Gusha Folijala, on Tuesday committed suicide by hanging himself in a tree behind his house after being suspected of practising witchcraft in Dowa.
The incident happened at Mndambala village in the area of Traditional Authority Msakambewa.
According to Dowa police station Publicist, Sergeant Richard Mwakayoka Kaponda, the elder brother of Folijala told the police that Folijala and two others from the same village were being accused of practising witchcraft.
Kaponda said the development prompted village headman Mndambala to take the trio to Mangochi to meet with the man of God for prayers.
On February 5, 2019 in the morning, the villagers had a rude awakening after finding the man dangling in a tree behind his house.
Postmortem conducted revealed that death was due to suffocation following strangulation.
The deceased, Simeon Gusha Folijala hailed from Mndambala village in the area of Traditional Authority Msakambewa in Dowa.
Meanwhile, police in the district are advising people not to commit suicide but rather prioritising police victim support units for help.
