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A 33-year-old man identified as Amos Phombeya died due to electric shock in Zingwangwa Township in the city of Blantyre on Monday night as he tried to fix an electric fault.
The incident happened around 8pm when one of his tenants called him to her house to check on an electricity problem which occurred in the tenant’s house.
Phombeya is said to have been electrocuted when he tried to fix the problem although he was not an electrician.
According to Atupele Gogoda a tenant of the house, she called Phombeya the land lord to fix the electrical problem considering that he had done it before.
“Things just happened as if I was dreaming because my landlord only touched the main switch in order to find out the problem and suddenly very strong shock pushed him down and he never woke up and I started shouting for help,” explained Gogoda.
She said the incident was then reported to police by Macwel Thengo who is a relative to the deceased.
Confirming the incident Blantyre Police Assistant Public Relations Officer, Andrew Mayawo said when they heard about the issue they rushed to the scene and took the victim to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital for medical attention.
“Unfortunately Phombeya was certified dead due to electric shock by the medical personnel after undergoing medical examinations”.
Mayawo said incidents like this were becoming common because people try to fix electrical problems on their own without informing Escom officials.
“I would therefore like to urge all Malawians to call Escom officials or trained electricians to fix electrical problems in their houses in order to avoid incidents like these,” said Mayawo.
The deceased came from Salama Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Phombeya in Balaka district.
