ZAMBIA – A Lusaka maid identified as Anastasia Mulenga has died by suicide at her employer’s house for unknown reasons.

Police spokesperson Esther Katongo has confirmed the incident which allegedly happened in the early hours of today.

“Police in Lusaka received a report of suspected suicide in which a living- in maid aged 46 is alleged to have committed suicide from her employers home in Lusaka’s Olympia Township. The incident is reported to have happened on 21st January, 2021 at around 0520 hours,” Mrs Katongo stated.

“The report was made by the employer of the now deceased person, aged 54, that her maid identified as Anastasia Mulenga, aged 46, was discovered dead when she had gone to check on her after noticing that she was not responding to the persistent alarm on her phone (maid’s phone) at about 05:00 hours.”

According to the employer, she did not find Anastasia in the room where she was sleeping and after a search, an empty bottle of Doom, a pesticide, was found on the floor of the kitchen.

“The pesticide was bought by the employer and was intending to use it on cockroaches and had stored it in the kitchen display. She then went outside and found the maid dead in a swimming pool. Police visited the scene and found the body in the pool without visible injuries and has been taken to UTH mortuary for postmortem to ascertain the cause of death . An inquiry in the matter has been launched,” Mrs Katongo stated.