Albino kidnap suspect dies

Buleya Lule, a suspect who allegedly offered to ‘buy’ a 14-year-old Dedza boy with albinism for K800 000 last week, has died in police custody a day after appearing in court.

His death has stirred tension and mixed reactions between his family and the police, especially regarding where he died.

Police said Lule, and not Luke as earlier reported based on court records, was pronounced dead on arrival at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) where he was being taken for medical treatment after the court adjourned. On the other hand, Buleya’s family members said they suspect that he died in police custody as they saw his lifeless body stretchered to the hospital yesterday.

His death on Wednesday evening came barely two hours after appearing in a packed Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court alongside five other suspects who were all charged with the abduction of Goodson Makanjira, who is reported missing.

In interviews yesterday, Buleya’s sister Annie Lule and nephew Samson Black, feared that he had died in a police cell. They said their relative appeared well after the court session, but when they wanted to see him at Area 3 Police Station where he was being kept, they were told to wait, yet it was time for relatives and well-wishers to offer food to remandees.

Said Black: “He was my uncle. He was fine from court, but by the time we wanted to give him food, they told us to wait outside.

“We waited until I saw the police carrying someone on a stretcher some minutes later coming out of the station. I suspected that he was my uncle, but they denied me the chance to peep through a cell as we were insisting that we give him food and they dismissed us.”

He said the family was only told about the death yesterday morning when they went to give him breakfast.

Annie had no kind words for the police, alleging that they even beat her up when she was trying to enquire about the whereabouts of her brother. She said the police yesterday morning told her he died of high blood pressure.

Said Annie: “I believe my brother died of beatings.”

The family members said Buleya is survived by a wife and eight children, the youngest aged 10. He was running a fish business at Mitundu Trading Centre in Lilongwe and he came from Thekerani in Thyolo.

But Lilongwe Police Station spokesperson Kingsely Dandaula, in an interview, dismissed suggestions of foul play, saying the suspect had shown that he was not well even in the court.

“He has passed away at Kamuzu Central Hospital. We are still waiting to find out what caused the death, but he was announced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

“The time he came out of the court and the time he was taken to the hospital, no one can say we did something to him. We will wait for the post-mortem results.”

Police arrested six men in connection with the abduction of the teenage boy and have since charged them with abducting in order to murder contrary to Section 261 of the Penal Code and unlawful wounding contrary Section 24 of the Penal Code.

The six, including the deceased, are Kumbilani Patson, 51, (1st accused), 2nd accused Sainani Kalekeni, 44, 3rd accused Lukas Kagomo, 36, 4th accused Katiya Mizeck, 42, 5th accused Buleya Lule, 44, and Wiskes Gana, 58, the 6th accused.

Buleya pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied accusations by Patson and Kalekeni that he knew the market of persons with albinism and that they gave him the boy alive.

Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) executive director Gift Trapence has since called for an independent inquiry into the death of the suspect which he says raises speculations that something fishy is happening.

During the court hearing, Buleya repeatedly asked for a glass of water and requested to be allowed to lie on the floor because he felt dizzy.

The court learnt that Buleya and most of the accused had sustained various degrees of injuries allegedly from beatings by community members and police officers in the course of their arrest.

Noticing that several of the accused seemed to be in pain and ill-health, principal resident magistrate Viva Nyimba ordered the police to facilitate their access to medical care and ensure good health by the time the court reconvenes on March 22.