Witchdoctor jailed for robbing woman 13.8 million kwacha
Lilongwe First Grade magistrate court has sentenced a witchdoctor Winstone Mvula 60 to five years in prison after defrauding a woman 13.8 million kwacha in false claims that he would resurrect her dead husband
The court heard through state prosecutor inspector Vincent Ntawale that Mvula on October 21st last year approached a businesslady at her shop and claimed to bring to life her husband who died in July last year after a short illness
Mvula demanded money in millions which was paid to him through airtel money and graveyard transactions
The latter transaction took place at Mbwindi-Mchesi graveyard on the night of 23rd November 2021
At the graveyard as per instructed the unsuspecting victim handed Mvula 7 million kwacha cash and her late husband’s clothes which he will wear soon after his rising from the dead
The husband however didn’t resurrect and Mvula went on telling the woman to return home to await her husband’s home coming in the following morning
He further advised her to prepare the husband an early morning feast to celebrate his return
The husband once again didn’t arrive home and this prompted the woman to report to Lilongwe police station
A manhunt led to Mvula’s arrest on obtaining money by false pretences charge which he denied in court
The state paraded four witnesses and asked court the punish the accused hard saying the victim had suffered a great loss since the money was not recovered
But mvula pleaded for leniency claiming he was too old to face a long life in prison
In his determination first grade magistrate Robert Botha struck off the mitigation saying as an elderly man Mvula was supposed to be responsible and doing his business well
Botha went ahead convicting and sentencing him to five years imprisonment with hard labour to deter other quack witchdoctors
Mvula comes from Chiwato village Traditional authority Kaluluma in Kasungu district
