A 42-YEAR-OLD man of Mukumbe village in Nakonde of Muchinga province has gone missing and is being presumed dead after he was allegedly tortured by a village headman and three others on suspicion that he stole some chickens.
Charles Siame was allegedly beaten and tortured using electricity current from a motor in the presence of his relatives.
The relatives suspect that Siame is dead after the torture he got with instruction of Whiteson Siame, the village headman at his residence.
After the torture, relatives explained to police that they were asked to leave the headman’s residence, together with community members, but were forced to go back three days after to inquire why the victim was not being set free.
Upon asking, the headman expressed ignorance and that is when the matter was reported to police.
The 73-year-old village Head man has since been arrested by police, while a search for the victim has been instituted.
Muchinga province commanding officer Kaunda Mubanga said police have recorded a case of suspected murder which occurred on March 7th this year around 21:00 hours at Mukumbe village.
He said Siame’s younger reported that his brother went missing after he was unlawfully detained and tortured by the headman and three others on suspicion of having stolen some chickens.
“Brief facts of the matter are that on March 7, at around 07:00hours, the now missing person and presumed dead was apprehended and taken to the residence of the Village Headman on suspicion that he had stolen some chickens.”
“At the Headman’s residence he was interrogated and tortured in the presence of his relatives and other members of the community using electricity current from a fully charged motor vehicle battery which was connected to an inverter in a bid to make him disclose where he had taken the chickens,” he said.
Mr Mubanga explained that , according to the younger brother who reported the matter, he said due to the beating and torture he became weak and exhausted that he could barely talk or stand up on his own.
He said later in the evening at around 21:00 hours, the village headman dispersed the community members and instructed his three security men to guard him while he was tied to a tree with his hands and legs also tied together.
“His relatives went back to their respective homes and waited until on March 11th, this year when they went back to the Village Headman to inquire about the whereabouts of the their relative. To their surprise, the Headman expressed ignorance. Hence, they became suspicious and reported the matter to Nakonde Police Station for assistance. Acting on the report, Police officers from Nakonde Police Station booked out to Mukumbe village where they picked up the Village headman who upon being interviewed could not give satisfactory answers,” he said.
(Mwebantu, Monday, 27th March, 2023)
