The Village Headman (VH) Mtowa of Traditional Authority Kyungu in Karonga district has been fined K15, 000 for defying bylaws that was put in place to reduce maternal and neonatal death in the area.According to the report seen by Maravi post, the incident happened during the night hours at the chief resident.

An eye witness told our reporter that, the victim is the granddaughter of the village head despite attending maternal services throughout her pregnant period.

“She was assisted by some traditional birth attendance despite being prohibited in our bylaws. So this angered the community who pressurized the chief to face the consequence of the development,” said one of the eye witnesses.

“People wondered why the chief who was suppose to lead by example especially in respecting the bylaw was in forefront violating it,” he added.

Medical officers at Lupembe health center which is 13 kilometers from the area said number of home delivery in the area have now decreased due to the bylaws.

“For instance, in the month of January before the bylaws we registered about 13 cases of home delivery and 28 in February but as of now we have only 2 in June this year,” said the medical officer.

The bylaws also punished a woman who failed to attend medication during pregnant period among others.

Meanwhile, some organizations that deals with issues of maternal and neonatal death in the district have asked traditional leaders to make sure that bylaws are being implemented in the district.