DEAD MAN IN KASUNGU SPENT A NIGHT IN AN OPEN GRAVE

Dead man in Kasungu spent a night in an open grave as family members wanted to fulfill the burial instructions and rituals he had given to them before he died.

Before he died, village headman Chinkholopete is said to have had advised his family members not to bury his body for some days, lest the village would face some serious calamity.On Wednesday he breathed his last breath at his royal house, and the show begun.

“The man ordered his relatives to bury him under a tree in his garden. He also ordered that his body should not be buried the same day,” said Group Village Headman (GVH) Chamatwa of the area.

The funeral ceremony led by members of the Nyau cult was the center of attraction as hundreds of people thronged there in disbelieve.
On the way to the grave, a she-goat led the procession and it stood on the edge of the grave as the coffin was lowered.
Elder son to the deceased, Davison Chimbuwira said they had to comply with the order to leave the grave open for fear of repercussions.

“We don’t know why he demanded that his grave be left open for a night; we are only doing this for his sake,” said Chimbuwira who has since taken over the mantle to lead the village from his father.

GVH Chamatwa said that some of the foretold calamities included lightening which would claim many lives in the village, and that the ‘old man’ left instructions that his body should be buried only after some strange things happen.

“We will keep watch. Once we see one of the signs he told us, we will know that it’s time to bury him,” he said without disclosing what signs they were expecting.

Villagers Gerald Bakali and  Mr Mphepo said that the incident was strange. “I doubt if our parents have seen this before,” they said.

Born in 1940, village headman Chinkholopete was finally laid to rest on Friday, Jun 20