Two siblings aged six and five of Shiwang’andu, Muchinga Province, have been murdered and dumped in a river by a suspected mentally disabled man who has also been beaten to death by a mob.
The alleged murderer has been identified as Kelvin Mulenga, an ex-convict who served years in a correctional facility for killing his grandfather.
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Mulenga, of Mukungule, allegedly killed the two boys on Tuesday afternoon. Since his release from the correctional facility, he is said to have been involved in a number of crimes such as attacking animals and eating raw meat.
But on Tuesday, his violent nature turned towards the two boys, whose parents had gone to their respective crop fields and left the children playing within the village.
Later, they received information around 11:00 hours that their children had been picked by Mulenga, who was heading towards Lufile river.
Muchinga Province police commanding officer Paul Achiume said in a statement that the parents rushed to the suspect’s shelter, where they found him with soaked trousers.
When they questioned him about the whereabouts of the children, he kept quiet.
He said the situation angered community members, who started beating the suspect until he led them to the river, where some of the people started searching for the boys.
“The bodies of the two were later spotted being carried away [by the water current] in the river before they were retrieved,” Mr Achiume said.
One of the bodies was found with a big cut on the right limb and bruised head while the other had a cut on the manhood and left arm. Mr Achiume said the situation angered community members, who continued beating the suspect.
Zambia Daily Mail
