Fear as dead woman ‘resurrects’ in Ntcheu

Fear has gripped people of Bula Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kwataine and surrounding areas in Ntcheu following the ‘resurrection’ of a 34-year-old woman who died on July 25 this year.

Scores of people flocked to the village yesterday from surrounding areas to witness the reported resurrection of the woman from the dead and confirm whether the news circulating in their communities was true.

The woman, identified as Liness Jana, was the centre of attraction yesterday.

When Malawi News Agency (Mana) visited the village, hundreds of people were seen pushing and shoving for space to attest to the modern and latter-day act of resurrection.

People crammed outside the house where Jana was kept, demanding to see her, a development which angered family members who started whipping some of the members of the community that looked defiant.

Family members have since described the development as unusual and frightening, saying they could not believe their eyes upon sight of their sister whom they buried on July 27 2017.

Mary Sambi, a sister to Liness, told Mana that her sister died at Ntcheu District Hospital on July 25 this year.

Said Sambi: “She used to complain of severe headache before she died and she was seven months pregnant by then. On July 24, we took her to Ntcheu District Hospital where she was admitted to.

“We spent a sleepless night on that night because she complained of severe headache and kept on crying until the following morning when she passed on.”

Sambi insisted that the ‘resurrected’ woman was her sister, observing that she had not changed in any way.

She said: “She is my younger sister and there is no way I could miss her. If you ask her, she can tell you that I am her sister. Ask her about her children, she will tell you everything because she is mentioning all of them.”

According to Sambi, the only major change on Jana was that she was no longer pregnant and she was speaking fluent Yao, a development which surprised her since they do not speak Yao in the area.

She said: “She is speaking fluent Yao mixed with Chichewa. I am really surprised that she is speaking Yao because this is a Ngoni area and what we speak most of the times is Chichewa.”

Jana, who was in the company of her family when Mana visited the village yesterday, kept on smiling throughout the interview with family members.

When this reporter greeted her in Chichewa, Jana responded: “Ndili bwino kaya inu [I am fine, how are you?].”

In the course of the conversation, she switched from Chichewa to Yao and spoke continuously in the latter language.

Liness Jana is said to have been seen a week ago by people from a nearby village, loitering around Nsipe River, according to family members, but they only managed to bring her home on August 12 2017.

Records at Ntcheu District Hospital Female Ward showed that Jana, who was diagnosed with meningitis, was treated as an in-patient in the ward on July 24 2017 and died the following day around 11pm.

“I remember the name and I recall everything that happened on the day since I was the one on night duty. She died on the night of July 25 2017 and we registered her case as a maternal death since she was seven months pregnant then,” said a nurse who opted for anonymity.

The nurse, who looked amazed with the news that Jana had ‘resurrected’, confirmed to Mana that her dead body was collected from the mortuary on July 26 2017.

Jana’s death report was shown to Mana, but the nurses did not allow the reporter to have a copy of it until permission was granted by her seniors who were not around by the time of interview.

Meanwhile, family members are keeping a close eye at Jana to ensure that her security is intact.

Her husband, Tonesi Jana, could not hide his happiness to Mana over the reunion with her beloved wife whom he kept on calling as Nambewe.

He said: “I am happy that my wife is back. She is indeed the one and I really missed her because she left me with five children, one of whom is epileptic. Life was tough with me to have the five kids without a mother. I thank God that she is back.” n