Man Hangs Himself To Death After His Father In-Law Took His Wife Over Lobola Payment

Nsanje police spokesperson, Sub- Inspector Agnes Zalakoma, identified the man as MacDonald Alick.

Zalakoma says the man in question committed suicide on October 4 2021 at Nthondo Village in Traditional Authority Tengani in Nsanje district.

“It is reported that the deceased married a second wife a year ago and paid Lobola to her mother in-law and later picked the wife to his home village.

“However, this did not go well with his father in-law as the Lobola money did not reach him. The father in-law went to the house of the deceased and took her daughter back to his house,” said Zalakoma.

According to police report, MacDonald has on several occasions been trying to bring back his second wife home but this did not yield any tangible result.

“On October 3 2021, the man went again to discuss the issue but to no avail and told his first wife that things did not go well where he wanted to pick his second wife.

“Then on October 4 2021, the first wife prepared some breakfast which they all ate and the man went inside the house while the wife was in the kitchen.

“After sometime, the wife followed his husband to the house but she was surprised to find that her husband had locked the door of the house from inside.

“She peeped through the window and saw that his husband had hanged himself to the roof of the house whilst dead using a rope.”

Zalakoma said the matter was reported to police, who visited the scene accompanied by medical personnel from Tengani Health Centre who confirmed death as due to suffocation secondary to hanging.

The deceased hailed from Nthondo Village in Traditional Authority Tengani in Nsanje district.

This is a third suicide incident in Nsanje in just about two weeks.

Meanwhile a teacher at Dinde primary school in Nsanje, Chiyembekezo Kulinji, has also committed suicide by hanging himself using a rope, District Education Manager, Grestone Alindiamao, has confirmed.