Police in Dowa have arrested three people on allegation that they accused a person of practicing witchcraft.
The incident happened on Tuesday evening of August 16, 2022 at Matekenya area Traditional Authority Msakambewa in Dowa.
Sub Inspector Gladson M’bumpha, Dowa Police Station Public Relations Officer (PRO) said the suspects have been identified as Mickness Moses Luka (female adult), Maliko Green Chibwe, 48, and Dickson Green Chibwe, 41, all from Kachinga Village in Traditional Authority Msakambewa in the district.
M’bumpha explained that Daniel Keliasi who owns a maize mill which he inherited after the death of his parents was accused to have allegedly bewitched a certain young man by the name of Brenda Luka who died three weeks ago.
After the death of Brenda Luka, his family started speculating the victim (Daniel Keliasi) bewitched him whereby he was involved in a bicycle fatal accident.
The family alleged that Brenda was being kept and propelling the maize mill up to the extent of alleging that one day they saw him coming out from the victim’s house.
Following the speculations, on Tuesday evening, the family of the deceased (Brenda Luka) mobilized and went to the house of the victim for confrontations.
Later, they started assaulting him and members of community policing forum intervened and rescued him for safety and he was held at one of the community policing forum members house.
The matter was reported at Dowa Police Station who rushed to the scene where they found that a bathroom was torched and managed to put down the fire and 18 window pens of the main house were damaged, two maize mills were completely burnt, 100 tins of groundnuts, 10 bags of maize and assorted clothes were stolen, all items worthy K5.4 Million.
They have since been charged with the offence of charging a person with witchcraft contrary to Section 4 of Witchcraft Act and will appear before court soon.
