Malawian man torches mother to death over witchcraft suspicion
Police in Kasungu are hunting for a man suspected to have torched her 65-year- old mother on suspicion that she killed her sister through witchcraft.
Landani Nyirenda, the suspect, is believed to have gone to her mother’s house and set ablaze the house at around 2:00am on Sunday while the woman was fast asleep hence by the time she wanted to escape the main door had already caught heavy fire that killed her instantly.
According to Kasungu Police Public Relations Officer, Edwin Kaunda, the neighbours failed to extinguish fierce fire as it had advanced and it overpowered them.
“The man is believed to have done such an action because he believed that her sister, Joyce Nkhoma, who died after a short illness a week before the incidence, was killed by the mother whom they hoped was a wizard.
“With the anger reigning in the man’s heart, he resorted to torching her mother’s house,” Edwin Kaunda said.
He said when the police visited the scene, it was discovered that the house was down to ashes and half of the deceased body was burnt beyond recognition.
Postmortem conducted at Kasungu District Hospital had revealed that the woman died due to severe burning wounds.
This incidence has come barely two days after George Thindwa of the Association for Secular Humanism(ASH) launched an Ant-Witchcraft Campaign in Kasungu which was aimed at discouraging people from abusing the elderly, children and women in the areas of T/A Kawamba, Wimbe and Chulu of being witches and wizards.
Landani Nyirenda comes from Ntukule village T/A Kawamba in Kasungu and is expected to answer murder charges when police apprehend him: he is still at large.
