Trickster dupes family in Nkhata Bay

A man from Nkhata Bay District, who claimed to have raised from the dead a 23-year-old woman in the district, is on the run after duping the deceased’s unsuspecting mother.

The man, only identified as Major Jali, claimed he knew traditional herbs that could raise people who had died mysteriously.

Nkhata Bay Police spokesperson Ignatius Esau said Joana Muwamba’s daughter, Lucy Kapinda, had died last month of a snake bite.

“Muwamba had doubts her daughter died a natural death, prompting her to look for a herbalist to ascertain whether the deceased had really died a natural death or not.

“Jali charged her K500 000 and a goat, but she only managed to pay the goat while assuring the herbalist to pay the balance once the job was done,” said the police spokesperson.

Last Thursday, Jali told Muwamba he had done the job.

When she visited Jali’s residence the following day she found a human-like object covered in a cloth and Jali claimed it was the young woman who had risen from the dead, but could not be seen by the community until he said so.

“This condition raised suspicion among members of the community who then reported the matter to police and when police visited the scene, they found that he had run away and Muwamba’s supposedly risen daughter was nowhere to be seen,” he said.