Wife’s tragic death recounted
Samuel Jickson, whose wife was killed by unidentified dogs in Lilongwe on February 17, describes her death is the most tragic experience he will live to remember.
Jickson, 38, clarified that the deceased, Mwatitha Jickson, 26, met her death as she was going to a nearby under-five clinic to get their third born child vaccinated.
In an interview at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) where the baby is admitted to, he said: “I still fail to believe it really happened and that I shall never see my wife again. It is like I’ll wake up and find it was all a dream.”
The incident happened in Chilota Village, opposite the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Air-wing in Traditional Authority (TA) Njewa where Jickson lives with his family.
On the fateful morning, he had gone to their garden nearby, but had barely worked for an hour when he got the sad news.
Jickson said Mwatitha was attacked by six dogs whose owner was not known and that she was discovered by a bicycle taxi (kabaza) operator who shouted for help.
He said: “I did not personally see the dogs, but the account that the kabaza man gave was that the dogs were six in number.
“And if the scene was not interrupted by this man and the people who responded to the call for help, we could have lost the baby as well.”
The baby sustained wounds in various parts of the body, but she was immediately treated with anti-rabies drugs at KCH and her condition is improving by the day, according to health workers treating her.
The mother, Mwatitha, was pronounced dead upon arrival at the referral health facility and as of Sunday, her body was still at KCH mortuary following some logistical challenges, according to the husband.
Meanwhile, the Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development has described the incident as “very unfortunate”.
“We are yet to investigate to ascertain whether they were stray dogs or owned but we commend Kamuzu Central Hospital for professionally handling the case of the surviving baby,” explained Patrick Chikungwa, the department’s deputy director for research and investigations.
He said there was need to sensitise the public on responsible dog ownership as well as reducing population of stray dogs to avoid such tragic incidents.
