In a shocking and deeply disturbing incident that unfolded in Mzimba district, Malawi, police have taken action by arresting a mob of twenty people who were involved in the harassment and assault of elderly women accused of practicing witchcraft.
On Saturday, Malawi24 posted a video in which the eldery persons were forced to bury a dead person whom they were accused of killing through magic in the Area of Traditional Authority Kampingo Sibande.
This unsettling episode came to light when a video circulated on social media over the weekend, revealing the horrifying treatment of Christina Mphande, an elderly woman. Mphande was brutally beaten and forcibly made to bury a deceased individual at a graveyard in Mandala Zimba Village, Eswazini area. The accusation against her revolved around alleged witchcraft practices that were believed to have caused the death of her daughter-in-law in South Africa.
According to Peter Botha, the Public Relations Officer of Mzimba Police, the deceased’s body was repatriated back home on Friday. During the burial ceremony, a group of individuals seized Mphande and coerced her into burying the body alone.
In the process, she was subjected to physical assault, resulting in the loss of two teeth. Her ordeal escalated when she was forcibly placed inside the grave, with the intent of being buried alive. Fortunately, her sister and daughters came to her rescue, preventing a potentially tragic outcome.
In response to this horrifying incident, Traditional Authority Kampingo Sibande has taken swift action by suspending three local chiefs (traditional leaders) who failed to control their respectie villages for harassing the elderly women. The suspended chiefs include Group Village Headman Zebedia Ziyiri, village headman Mandala Zimba, and village headman Alufeyo Mbale.
Inkosi Yamakosi Mbelwa, a prominent figure in the region, has also condemned the assault on the elderly woman as a barbaric act.
