- Ritual killings, the rule of law and mob justice: the
Chambishi riots
new
A local businessman, Reuben Nkandu, his nephew Dauti Katongo, a
shopkeeper named Graham Kabangazhi and an unidentified middle-aged
man were killed by an angry mob in Chambishi Town on the Copperbelt.
The latter was accused of being part of a group of businessmen that
was behind a spate of ritual killings in Chambishi. Also the other
three victims were accused of involvement in ritual murders.
The violence, looting and killings started on July 31 after the
burial of a resident of Zambia Compound. Neighbors suspected it was
a ritual murder. The mob accused the police of corruptly releasing
individuals allegedly linked to ritual murders.
Police on the Copperbelt on Saurday September 1 arrested 110
residents of Chambishi in connection with the riots and the killing
of the four people, because 'police cannot tolerate people taking
the law in their own hands.' A few days later four more were
arrested for allegedly participating in the riots that rocked
Chambishi Town over the weekend in which four businessmen suspected
to be involved in ritual murders were burnt to death, their shops
looted.
Also in June 2011 a mob in Masala Township in Ndola caused a riot
burning the property of a local businessman suspected of foul play
and involvement in the 'sacrifice' of a 17-year-old boy.
More on the Chambishi riots:
4 more nabbed for torching people
September 4, 2012
Chambishi residents riot again
September 3, 2012
Tension grips Chambishi after anti-satanism riots
September 3, 2012
Probe Chambishi looting, killings
September
3, 2012
4 burnt to death in Chambishi riot
September 2, 2012
Mob burns three to death
September 1, 2012
- Lusaka killings
new
A spate of
killings recently shocked the nation's capital, frightening the
population. The people are wondering whether this is the macabre
work of a serial killer or .... ritual killers. Five women were murdered, four of them
within one month. Ruth Mbandu, Sharon Tembo, Mazuba Kapembwa,
Thandiwe Longwe, Mailes Banda.
In July three young women were found murdered within a space of
three weeks: 19-year-old student Ruth Mbandu, 27-year-old Sharon
Tembo, a hairdresser of Matero Township and 23-year-old Mazuba Kapembwa. In August
two women were murdered: 30-year-old Thandiwe Longwe of Ng'ombe
Township and 65-year-old Mailes Banda in Mandevu Township.
Are these ritual killings? Police chief Solomon Jere ruled out the
possibility of ritual murders but at least in one case - the murder
of Ruth Mbandu - the victim's body was found with her facial skin
peeled off, ears removed and her eyes pokes out.
At least two murders turned out to be 'common crimes' - Sharon Tembo
and Mazuba Kapembwa - and had nothing to do with rituals or
superstition. Police investigation resulted in the arrest of
Sharon's companion and Mazuba's boyfriend respectively.
It is important to mention that the discovery of the mutilated body
of the first victim, Ruth Mbandu, raised the suspicion of a ritual
murder. This partly explains the fear of many residents of Zambia's
capital city Lusaka when within a space of one month three more
women were murdered and killing for ritual purposes seemed to be a
plausible explanation.
See the extensive
coverage of Ruth Mbandu's murder below.
More on the Lusaka killings:
Mazuba's boyfriend in court for her murder
September 3, 2012
Sharon's companion appears on murder rap
August 14, 2012
Lusaka killings rekindle past fears
August 20, 2012
Four women killed in possible ritual murders
Augst 13, 2012
Lusaka killings - State Talks tough
August 11, 2012
Fourth murder - Ngombe woman slain
August 10, 2012
Lusaka murders -Third woman killed
August 8, 2012
Another Lusaka woman murdered in unexplained circumstances
August 7, 2012
Matero woman murdered
July 30, 2012
Ruth Mbandu murdered
July 15
More: see below
- The ritual killing of 19 year old Ruth Mbandu
new
On Friday July 13, a 19-year-old student at the National Institute of Public
Administration, Ruth Mbandu, was brutully murdered, her naked lifeless
body dumped in a residential area. Her eyes had been poked out, ears
removed, her facial skin skillfully peeled of. Four days after she
was buried, Police exhumed her body.
Ruth Mbandu's murder has led to an unprecedented public outcry and
an outpouring of sympathy, with Matero member of Parliament Miles
Sampa staking K15 million for information leading to the arrest of
her killers. Other residents raised the amount to K28.5 million.
Within weeks five suspects were arrested. Among them Ruth's uncle,
Pastor George Kalomo (31) at Joy Church, whom she visited an hour before her death, and
Bishop Evans Ngulube (58) of Mount Zion Spirit Church as well as his driver
Stanley Munkonji (31). Two men,
who were found in possession of Ruth’s phone, were apprehended in
Kanyama. The identity of the last two suspects is unknown.
According to classified police information Pastor George Kalomo and
Bishop Evans Ngulube phoned each other over 20 times on the night of
the murder. Also there were many phone calls between Ruth's mother
Victoria Mbandu
and George Kalomo and Evans Ngulube that night.
Latest developments are that the three will be charged for ritual
murder. The bishop's driver Stanley Munkonji will be state witness.
He will testify against the other three hoping for a lighter
sentence. He sold Ruth's phone after the murder in Kanyama to the
two youths.
Reports on the possible role of Dick Masebo, a Lusaka businessman
operating a transport business, proved to be creating confusion and
untrue. Early August police in Lusaka confirmed recording
warn-and-caution statements from Dick Masebo and his mother Mercy
Namonje. Zambian newspapers then linked Dick Masebo to Ruth's murder.
Lusaka Province police commissioner Dr Solomon Jere denied that Dick
Masebo was linked to the murder of Ruth Mbandu. Meanwhile Dick
Masebo has threatened to sue the Zambia Daily Mail for libel.
Ruth Mbandu's uncle and bishop 20 times on phone on night of
murder
August 21, 2012
Masebo’s ex-husband linked to murder of Ruth Mbandu
August 7, 2012
Dick Masebo linked to Ruth murder
August 7, 2012
Driver may turn State witness in Ruth murder case
August 2,
2012Ruth murder - Two Churches banned
August 2, 2012
Two churches de-registered for involvement in Ruth Mbandu's
murder case
August 1, 2012
Police warn and caution Ruth's mother
August
1, 2012 Ruth Mbandu's mum quizzed
August
1, 2012
Grisly Murder
In: Kalaki's Korner: Political satire on current events in Zambia,
in the form of a weekly story
July 31, 2012
I saw Ruth off, aunt
July
29, 2012
Police yet to charge youths found with Ruth Mbandu's phone
July 27, 2012
Ruth murder - 2 more cornered
July 26, 2012
Boy found with murdered Ruth's phone arrested
July 25, 2012
Two more arrested in Ruth Mbandu's brutal murder
July 25, 2012
Ruth killing: Uncle, bishop charged with murder
July
23, 2012
Sunday Mail Report reveals that Ruth Mbandu was probably pregnant
at the time of her death
July 22, 2012
Ruth Mbandu's murder: Police arrest Bishops driver Stanley
Munkonji
July 22, 2012
Ruth Mbandu murder: Pastor's aide arested after going underground
July 22, 2012
Ruth Mbandu: Unfolding the shocking mystery murder
July 21, 2012
Ruth Mbandu's body exhumed
July 21, 2012 ('AllAfrica')
July
21, 2012 ( 'Zambia Daily Mail')
Police exhume body of murdered Ruth Mbandu
July 20, 2012
The grisly murder of Ruth Mbandu takes a new twist as Police
exhume her body
July 20, 2012
Bishop retained in Ruth Murder
July 20, 2012
Release Ruth's uncle, pleads mum
July
20, 2012
Ruth Mbandu's murder: 2 held, bounty at K25.3 million
July 19, 2012
Uncle picked up in student murder
July
19, 2012 ('AllAfrica')
July 19, 2012 ('TrulyZambian')
A Lusaka based Bishop has been arrested in connection with grisly
murder of Ruth Mbandu
July 19, 2012
Mbanu murder jigsaw puzzle for police
July 19, 2012
Two arrested in connection with the brutal murder of NIPA student
Ruth Mbandu
July 18, 2012
My daughter's blood will haunt her killers warns Ruth Mbandu's
mother
July 17, 2012
NIPA student Ruth Mbandu who was brutally killed laid to rest
July 17, 2012
Police close in on people suspected to have slain NIPA student
Ruth Mbandu
July 15, 2012
Opposition leader Nevers Mumba visits funeral house of teenager
brutally murdered
July 15, 2012
NIPA's students eyes poked out in suspected ritual killing
July 15, 2012
Female NIPA student brutally murdered
July 14,
2012
- Decomposed body missing parts indicates possible ritual
killing
A decomposed body of a 70 year old man has been found near the
Zambia Railway New Building in Kabwe. Police suspect the killing to
be a ritual one (....)
February 28, 2012
- Rumours of ritual murders, riots and a failing rule of law
Suspected ritual killings in Luapula Province sparked a four-day
protest, in which three people allegedly involved in the same were
burnt to death while several protestors were shot dead or wounded by
law enforcement officers.
(....)
Riots broke out in Mansa after residents of Senama
and Kapesha areas in the provincial capital staged a
riots following a rumours that local businessmen
have engaged killers who are abducting children for
body parts to use in boosting their businesses.
At least eight people died in the riots though the police command
claimed no one was shot dead.
Read more...:
'Mansa mother accuses govt of killing her son'
April 25, 2011
'Mansa parents complain about son's death'
April 24, 2011
'Police recover looted items in Mansa'
April 24, 2011
'Deadly riots send a bad signal'
April 20, 2011
'Two die in Mansa riots'
April 19, 2011
'Ritual Killings in Luapula Province'
Warning: with graphic pictures!
April
18, 2011
- DRC envoy collapses, dies
(....) police in the Copperbelt have dispelled rumours that there
are ritual killings in the province, especially in Chifubutownship
(...)
April 11, 2011
- Woman escapes alleged ritual killing
(...)
Police spokesperson Bonny Kapeso said the suspects are in police
custody.
“This comes in the wake of a local businessman’s attempt to shoot
his female employee after driving her in the bush where she
allegedly sneaked away from him,” he said.
Mr Kapeso said the woman escaped from her employer around 02:00
hours and sought refuge at a nearby village where she narrated her
ordeal.
He said the woman sent text messages using her mobile phone to her
relatives, after which they reported the matter to Zambezi police.
Mr Kapeso said people rioted and went on an orgy of destruction
after word went round that the woman escaped alleged ritual killing.
He said the businessman is currently in custody helping police with
investigations.
The circumstances under which the woman jumped into her employer’s
vehicle are not known.
(....)
February 27, 2010
- Teenage girl murdered by suspected ritual killers
A teenage girl, believed to be mentally disturbed, has been found
dead with her left arm missing in Nsadzu ward of Chadiza District.
The deceased only identified as, Inoni, also had her right hand
broken while the right thigh was found ripped by a sharp object.
The development has sparked fears that the recent suspected ritual
killings reported in Chipata could spread to Chadiza.
(....)
According to some Nsadzu residents Inoni went missing for three days
before the body was spotted floating on Nsadzu stream by passersby
last Thursday some 15 kilometers from Chadiza administrative centre.
Police from Chadiza Police station retrieved the body from the
stream and it has since been buried.
(....)
July
2, 2009
- Zambia: Amnesty International Report 2007
(....)
In March (2006), two journalists working for Radio Chikuni in the
Southern Province were arrested and charged with publishing false
news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public. They were
detained overnight and then provisionally released.
The charge stemmed from a broadcast about a young boy found dead
after going missing. The body was said to be mutilated, and local
residents suspected that the boy was the victim of a ritual killing.
(....)
Zambia Amnesty International Rport 2007
Poliice Arrest
Two Journalists
March 14, 2006
- Zambia New Online - Ritual killings and mob justice
(....)
Early this year, another spate of mob justice hit the country,
especially Lusaka and the tourist capital Livingstone, after
children started disappearing. Some of the children were later found,
horribly mutilated. These murders were believed to be ritual
killings. Angry mobs again took their justice, beating to death some
suspects who the police say were innocent. This ended only when the
police arrested and had several men convicted.
(....)
September 3, 1996
- Witchcraft and Ritual Killing
(....)
Some Indian businessmen and traders in South Africa and Zambia are
also thought to indirectly participate in ritual killings to secure
medicine that will ensure the success of their businesses. There
are, of course, ways around the outright killing of someone to
obtain human tissue. In Johannesburg, a White police officer at a
mortuary was alleged to be supplying traditional healers with human
fat, harvested from the corpses he was paid to protect (Report of
the Commission of Inquiry into Witchcraft Violence and Ritual
Murders in the Northern Province of the Republic of South Africa,
1995).Source:
David
Simmons 1999
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