By Joseph Mbughi
Police in Chitipa have arrested 18-year-old Wayuyo Pwele for killing his two-year-old stepdaughter.
According to Chitipa Police station public relations officer (PRO) Sub-Inspector Gladwell Simwaka, the victim has been identified as Lusekelo Banda.
Simwaka said the incident occurred during the night of 8 and 9 August, 2020 at Njebete village in the area of Traditional Authority Mwenemisuku in the district.
He said that the suspect is married to Mirriam Mushiko who is aged 18 and the two have been married for seven months.
The woman had a child (deceased) before marrying the suspect and at the moment the woman is five months pregnant.
“All along, the suspect was not at peace with the presence of the stepdaughter in the family and he demanded that she should be sent to her grandparents,” Simwaka said.
Simwaka added that Pwele is alleged to have strangled the child during the said night after he came back from a beer outing.
“When the wife tried to intervene, he beat and chased her out of the house. The woman reported the matter to their family mediator (ankhoswe) and the child was taken to Misuku Health Centre where death was pronounced upon arrival,” Simwaka said.
According to postmortem conducted at Misuku Health Centre, death was due to suffocation secondary to strangulation.
Pwele will appear in Court soon to answer a murder charge.
He hails from Njebete village in the area of Traditional Authority Mwenemisuku in Chitipa district.
