Police in Dedza district have arrested a witchdoctor along with three others for killing a woman who was accused of witchcraft.
The witch hunter is identified as Semitara N’gaiwa aged 35, and the three are: Anthony Deckson, 20, Kalekeni Njomvu, 40 and Patricia Dennis, 39, all from Mpalale Village in the area of Traditional Authority Kasumbu in the district.
According to Dedza Police Station deputy publicist Sergeant Cassim Manda, In December 2020, a12-year-old boy fell sick and his parents took him to N’gaiwa for healing rituals, but in the process N’gaiwa detected Silvia Banda (now deceased) and her family to have been responsible for the boy’s illness.
On January 3, 2021, the boy was brought to the hospital where he was diagnosed of malaria. He died on January 4, 2021 while receiving treatment.
Based on N’gaiwa’s supernatural assertion, the three suspects who happened to be the boy’s relatives stormed to Silvia’s house where she and her pregnant daughter were severely hacked.
N’gaiwa has been charged with profession of witchcraft, charging a person with witchcraft and instigating trial by prohibited ordeal contrary to chapter 7: 02 of Witchcraft Act, Sections 3, 4 and 8 while the rest have been charged with murder contrary to Section 209 of the Penal Code.
Meanwhile, Dedza Police Station has advised traditional doctors to avoid witch finding as it is against the laws of the country.
The law enforcers are also advising members of the general public to avoid employing witch finders as it contributes to wrangles and deaths of innocent people.
