A mentally-challenged man went on rampage in Malawi’s central district of Dowa on Sunday morning, hacking people at random and in the process killing six before he, too, was killed by an irate mob.
Police in the district which lies some 53 kilometres from Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe confirmed the incident, saying it happened in the area of village headman Pondani, Traditional Authority (T/A) Kayembe.
According to the police, the man, identified as 22-year-old Lemison Kapambwe hailed from the same area. They claimed angry relatives avenged the death of the six.
Dowa Police spokesperson Kondwani Kandiado said so far no suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of the mentally-challenged man as police are still investigating the matter.
He said Kapambwe went on rampage at around 9.30am and, using a hoe, started hacking people in the village.
“Among those who died were four children aged between two and six whereas the other [is] a 19-year-old girl, who was on the day of the incident scheduled to get engaged to Brino Kuyere who is also lying in agony at Mponela Rural Hospital after sustaining deep cuts in the head,” said Kandiado.
He identified the girl as Chrissy Chichitike from Mphonde Village, T/A Mtema in Lilongwe.
Kandiado said the sixth victim was a 92-year-old woman, Lebina Nashawa.
“It has been established that all those who died are related to the psychiatric man,” he said.
The other victims have been identified as two-year-old Nebot Macdonald, three-year-old Junior Chipiliro, Mwakitaro Stanley and Christopher Bosco who are both six years old.
Kandiado said at the time the man was hacking the victims, many men were reportedly attending church services and women failed to control him.
“After the incident, relatives of those killed decided to revenge. They [relatives] arrested him, tied him to a tree and later set him on fire. He was burnt to ashes,” he said.
