Mulanje’s horrific cremation encounter

 The smell of burning flesh signals that a village head and his aides are cremating another unidentifiable body that could well be their son, daughter, cousin, aunt or somebody’s husband or wife.

A month after Cyclone Freddy hit the country, cremation is carried out every time a decomposed body is discovered in the remote Nanchidwa Area, some eight kilometres away from Muloza Border in Mulanje.

There are no gloves, masks, disinfectants or health personnel or representatives of government involved during the exercise.

There is no government support to help them retrieve bodies of their brothers and sisters. No machinery, no police sniffer dogs. They have been left to their own devices.

This is a tale of a traumatised community that is failing to come to terms with the effects of Cyclone Freddy, summing pretty well the situation in most affected parts.

Only a single house remains in a village of 120 as the rest were swept away by ravaging flood waters from Mulanje Mountain.

A neighbouring village, which had over 95 houses, has only four remaining.

Where are the people? Over 105 people are confirmed dead by the community with over 30 still missing leaving many injured from three villages. Do not ask about livestock, properties and crops, it is history.

One month down the line, the situation has not changed. When you arrive at Nanchidwa River as you reach Mujiwa Village, you are greeted by a stench.

Reacts a motorcycle operator. “Mwamva fungolo?” “Ikununkhayo ndi mitembo [Have you noted the stench? It is coming from decomposed bodies.”

Dogs are seen moving around and at night, you can hear them fighting over human remains..

Will they mourn forever? Frustrated communities have now gained courage and are resorting to cremating decomposed bodies so that life should go on.

On the spot a fire had been lit, this reporter met village head Mujiwa who lost five children to mudslides.

His village lost over 67 people. This happened on Sunday, March 13 this year.

 “We had received rain for four consecutive days. On the fourth day, we heard a huge sound. It was around 8pm.

“At first, we thought it was the sound of a heavily loaded truck. At that time, everyone was sleeping except me. When I went out to see what was happening, I realised that it was water,” he said.

Mujiwa said he told his children to leave first. “I gave them a proper direction where there was no river not knowing that water had changed direction.

“They were all washed away by water,” he said.

Being a chief, he has been tasked to lead his people in cremating decomposed bodies. “This is against my conscience,” he reacts.

“You know what, I lost five children, and today I am burning decomposed bodies, what if I am burning my own child?”…he stopped for a while and dropped down a human bone he was to put on fire.

Mujiwa took this journalist to another spot where a leg was found in a decomposed state.

“This leg looks like that of a child,” he said. Could this be your child? A question was put forward to him to which he had problems to respond.

“I think so…this looks like my son Mudala who was 8 years old, ah my son,” said Mujiwa as he failed to place the leg on fire.

Some members had to proceed to burn the leg using petrol.

Mujiwa at the time said he had already burned four bodies and the number is expected to rise. “We have other leaders who are also doing the same in other parts of this village,” he said.

Group village Ndala said he has never faced such a horrific experience and he becomes religious, saying the world might be coming to an end.

Ndala, who was also rescued after water had washed him away from his house, said 447 families are affected by floods in his area and need support.

Asking if he subscribed to the idea of burning decomposed bodies, Ndala said he is against the move but they have no choice because the government has not helped them to retrieve dead bodies.

“We were left alone and we managed to retrieve 37 bodies and they were buried properly. Now these bodies are being found where there are heavy rocks which he said.are difficult for us to remove,”

Commissioner for Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) Charles Kalemba referred this reporter to Mulanje District office.

Mulanje DC David Gondwe said he is not aware that people are burning dead bodies.

“I am hearing this from you. Is that true? Why are they not calling us before burning dead bodies? I am shocked,” he said, promising to follow up.

Gondwe said his district has 151 people confirmed dead and 217 people are still missing with 147 injured. The district now has 28 camps.