Five arrested for possessing human bones
Police in Liwonde-Machinga are keeping in custody five suspects including a village head for allegedly being found in possession of human bones.
Confirming the development, Machinga Police Station publicist Davie Sulumba identified the five as Dyton Makwesela 50, who is village Head Nsapato, Lamilo Mambo 35, King Galagate 38, Witman Kadam’manja 29 and Mussa Kamba 30.
According to Sulumba, on January 3, this year, police received a tip-off from the public that the said suspects were offering for sale human bones.
Following the information, police intensified investigations and managed to arrest the first two suspects, Makwesela and Mambo on January 7 at Nkasaulo village along Bakili Muluzi Highway after they were found with16 human bones.
The suspects were taken to Liwonde Police and after interrogations, they revealed that they were not alone in the deal and this led to the arrest of the other three suspects on 8th January 2019; but one is still at large.
“The suspects also confessed to have hollowed out the bones from two different graves, one at Nantunga village in the area of Paramount Chief Kawinga and the other one at Chilala village.
“A visit to the graves by the police revealed that the suspects exhumed the body of Abiti Katungwe Chitaile who had leprosy and was laid to rest in 1970 while at the second scene, the suspect failed to locate the [actual] grave from which the bones were exhumed ,” explained Sulumba.
He further said all the suspects have since been charged with the offences of possessing human tissues, trespassing a burial place, unlawful exhumation of human corps and causing extraction of human tissues contrary to Sections 224 (A), 131 (A), 131 (B) and 131 (C) of the Penal Code as amended in 2016 respectively.
They have since been remanded to Domasi Prison until investigations have been concluded.
All the five suspects are from the area of Paramount Chief Kawinga in the district.
