A devastating wildfire in Mbulumbudzu Hills, Mzimba district, has claimed the lives of four young boys, including three biological brothers, who went hunting after knocking off from school.
According to Sub Inspector Macfarlen Mseteka, Jenda Police Public Relations Officer, the four have been identified as Shaban Nkhoma, 11, James Mbewe, 15, and Denis Mbewe, 11, brothers from the same family, along with their friend Misheck Lingison, 13 who went missing on Wednesday, 18 September.
Their parents, assuming they had gone hunting as usual, launched a search party when the boys didn’t come back that evening. The search resumed on Thursday 19 September and tragically, the boys’ bodies were found in the Mbulumbudzi hills, along with their dog, victims of the raging wildfire.
The parents immediately reported the incident to Jenda Police Station, who visited the scene with medical personnel from Nkoma Health Centre. A postmortem examination revealed severe burn wounds as the cause of death, secondary to the wildfire.
Preliminary investigations suggest the boys may have started the fire themselves, a common occurrence in hunting, but further investigations are underway to confirm this.
Goodson Nkhoma, the father of three of the deceased boys, resides in Njilika Village, Traditional Authority Mabulabo, in the Mzimba district. Misheck Lingison was the son of Maxwell Lingison, a tenant of Goodson Nkhoma.
This heartbreaking incident highlights the dangers of wildfires and the importance of exercising caution when engaging in outdoor activities.
