Family offered for sale at K170m

A family of three from Lilongwe was on Wednesday caught unawares when it was sold out at K170 million (US$523,076) by a friend in Mzimba, police have confirmed.

Prior to the deal, the family comprising the husband, Kantande Ibrahim, 36; wife, Loveness Sachokela,31  and their two-year-old child, Yankho, travelled from Lilongwe on Saturday together with their friend, Levison Nota to meet a herbalist in Mzimba who was said to have charms for riches.

“I knew him [Nota] last year in Lilongwe at one of the companies where we were moulding bricks together. After receiving our dues last month, he persuaded me to travel with him to Enukweni in Mzimba. He said he knew of a herbalist [Pearson Dzimbiri] who has charms for riches,” narrated Ibrahim.

He said the road to prosperity demanded that one sleeps with his sister through magic.

“We used my wages as transport to the north. Upon arrival on Sunday, the herbalist told us that he does not perform his magic on Sundays; hence, we waited for the following day,” he explained.

On Monday, Ibrahim was led in a ritual by the herbalist, but it did not work out as was expected.

“He dug a squared hole through which he said riches will come out. But after rigorous prayers, nothing came out,” he said, adding that he was worried that his dream for prosperity was fading.

“But the herbalist assured me of riches, saying that there is another option. He said the other ritual required that he ‘works’ on my manhood so that I become barren. But that needed a black cloth.

“He told me that this will be done the following day since Nota was required to travel to Mzuzu to buy the cloth. To my surprise, they returned with another person saying ‘anthu ndimanena aja ndi awa’ [these are the people I talked about],” said Ibrahim.

He said a few minutes later, police officers invaded the scene and arrested Nota and the herbalist.

Mzuzu Police spokesperson Maurice Chapola on Thursday confirmed the arrests. He said according to their interrogations, the two have pleaded guilty.

“Our findings have shown that after the herbalist failed to provide riches to the family, the two suspects agreed to sell the family as they believed that demand for private parts in the area was high,” said Chapola.

He said upon searching for the market, they landed a deal with a woman who also happens to be a police informant.

“She reported the matter to Enukweni Police Unit who referred it to the parent station in Mzuzu. Our detective posed as a potential buyer,” he said.

Chapola said the family was pegged at K170 million. The wife and the husband were at K70 million each whereas the child was at K30 million. But upon negotiations, the price for the family was reduced to K100 million.

He said the suspects have been charged with abduction contrary to Section 259 of the Penal Code. The crime attracts a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment with hard labour.

Nota and Dzimbiri appeared before senior resident magistrate Austin Banda in Mzuzu on Friday, but they both pleaded not guilty. They were also denied bail due to the seriousness of the case, among other reasons.

The case has since been adjourned to August 14 2013.

Dzimbiri, 42, comes from Namiwa Village, T/A Chimaliro in Thyolo. He lives in Makopolo Village, T/A Mtwalo at Enukweni in Mzimba.

Nota, 23, comes from T/A Kachere in Dedza. he Ibrahims come from Kudemera Village, T/A Kaphuka in Dedza.