Old man kills self over witchcraft
Written by Millennium on July 7, 2019
PETER SICHALI writes
@SunZambia
AN OLD man of Mafinga District in Muchinga Province has committed suicide after allegedly failing to heal a child he had bewitched.
Frank Simwaka, 83, of Lupita Village in Chief Mwenechifungwe’s area was found hanging from small tree, 50 metres from his home.
Muchinga Province Commissioner of Police Joel Njase in confirming the incident, said Mr Simwaka took his life on July 3 between15:00 hours and 18:00 hours.
“The brief facts are such that the man went missing from home on June 27. The relatives and concerned members of the community went out in the surrounding villages and the bush conducting a search, but to no avail,
“On July 3 when their efforts almost proved futile, the search party decided to report the matter to the police and later in the evening, they discovered the body behind his house,” Mr Njase said.
“A note stuck on the same tree with a confession that he bewitched his nephew, Kelvin Simwaka, aged 30 of the same village who is chronically ill suffering from a swollen stomach and legs,” Mr Njase said.
The suicide note indicated that Mr Simwaka decided to take his own life because he had failed to reverse the charms he had used to inflict the illness on his nephew so that the young man could be cured.