KARONGA(MaraviPost): Families living in the area of village headman Chakwera, Traditional Authority Kilipula in Karonga the northern border district of Malawi on Monday lost their houses and properties as some angry residents burnt them on allegations that those families support deceased Village Headma Chakwera’s younger brother who allegedly practises witchcraft.
The development follows the death of Village Headman Chakwera on Sunday after a short illness.
According to a reliable source, some residents suspected that the death of Village Headman Chakwera was due to witchcraft and that his young brother was behind it.
It is believed that the deceased’s young brother is a powerful witch around the area.
“The deceased’s young brother is a well-known witch. He has been also fighting for the throne for quite some time but to no avail and angry residents believe that he (deceased’s young brother) thought that the only way to take it was to kill his brother,” said our reliable source.
Residents supporting the deceased started torching the houses of deceased’s younger brother and those of his followers as part of a revenge.
The district’s armed police officers who arrived late at the scene managed to control the situation.
Meanwhile, no arrests relating to the incident have been made.
Despite it being a criminal offence in Malawi punishable by a fine of 25 Pounds (roughly MK20,000) to accuse someone of being a witch or practicing witchcraft under section 4 of Witchcraft Act, there are a lot of stories reported around Malawi especially on Malawi Broadcasting Corporation’s (MBC) Zammaboma Programme where people do accuse others of being witches or practicing witchcraft.
