Police in Lilongwe have launched a manhunt for assailants who brutally killed a 42-year-old man at a funeral ceremony over witchcraft accusation.
The incident occurred at Mzondi Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mazengera on Monday, July 18, 2022.
The deceased has been identified as Yohane Edward from Dambo Village in the same area.
It is said that on this day, Yohane (deceased), went to Mzondi Village to attend a funeral ceremony of a 25-year-old man who died after a long illness.
It all started during eulogies when a village headman stood up and condemned acts of witchcraft in his area.
People started pointing fingers at Yohane saying he was the one who bewitched the 25-year-old man to death.
Without waiting for the eulogies to finish, villagers started assaulting Yohane, before he escaped and sought refuge in a nearby house of a village headman.
However, the villagers followed him into the house and continued assaulting him to death before taking his body outside and set it ablaze.
Postmortem done by Matapila Health Centre revealed that death was due to severe loss of blood, secondary to assault.
Meanwhile, police investigations to identify and arrest the culprits are at an advanced stage.
When arrested, they will answer a charge of murder.
Meanwhile, Lilongwe Police Station is seriously condemning mob justice acts and anyone found perpetrating the acts will be pursued and apprehended.
