DOWA – Angry mob in Dowa district has burnt to death a 62-year-old village headman who allegedly killed his 66-year-old brother over chieftainship wrangles.
Sub Inspector Gladson M’bumpha, Dowa Police Public Relations Officer said Police in Dowa were looking for the deceased village headman over murder charge of his brother.
“The suspect who is now dead, was a village headman Kakhomba whose full name is Kakhomba Soka Kenamu from Kakhomba Village in the area of Traditional Authority Mkukula in Dowa District.
However, he disappeared together with his wife. But the angry villagers learnt that he was hiding at Nkhoma in Lilongwe so, on the night of March 9, 2020, they followed him to Nkhoma where they took him back to his village at Kakhomba then killed and burnt him using tyres.”
M’bumpha explained that the chief killed his brother Kaponda Soka Kenamu between the night of March 7, and March 8, 2020 at Kakhomba Village around Chezi Area in Dowa because the said brother had wanted to become a chief for the village.
“On 7th March, relatives and villagers began to search for the village headman’s brother after it was reported of his missing. Recalling about he chieftainship wrangles, the villagers went to the chiefs house for a search. While there, they saw blood spots near the village headman’s house but the chief was not home.” Said M’bumpha
“In the morning on March 8, 2020, the body of the chiefs brother was found dead and half buried along Fumbwe River Bank in the same village. This angered the villagers who resorted to burning the chiefs house and slashing his maize field.”
According to M’bumpha, postmortem conducted by Dowa District Hospital established that death of the chiefs brother was caused due to severe loss of blood as a result of multiple cut wounds on the head and also stabbed wounds on the stomach.
