When 74-year-old Stayi Mfungwe reflects on the events that unfolded in early August in Chasowa Mkandawire Village, Senior Chief Mpherembe’s area in Mzimba, she trembles. Her life almost ended, not because of illness or natural causes but because of community accusations branding her a witch.
“I cried but my voice couldn’t reach far and even if it reached far no one could come closer for rescue, then I gave up in my mind and I said please beat me on the face and finish me,” Mfungwe said.
Her ordeal began after the death of a 33-year-old man in the village, who took his own life by consuming acid and pesticides. At his funeral, whispers started spreading that Mfungwe had bewitched him. Days later, those whispers turned into mob action.
She just saw a group of people, calling all sorts of names like witch who started beating her.
When tempers flared, Group Village Headman Chivwala was called. Instead of protecting the elderly woman, he sanctioned her house arrest for two weeks, awaiting a witch-finder to determine her guilt or innocence.
“It is true the matter was reported to me and I told them that as traditional leaders we do not deal with witchcraft issues but they should sit down as a family and discuss the way forward like finding the witch-finder to bring the misunderstanding to an end,” the traditional leader told this publication.
“The issue of telling her not to go out was meant to protect her from being attacked by angry villagers and wait for a witch-finder to determine whether she is really a witch or not,” he added.
The mob attack forced Mfungwe’s son, Solomon Nthala, to make a painful decision. Working outside the district to provide for his family, he abandoned his job to return home and care for his mother, who was left only with her grandchildren.
“After I heard about the incident, I took a tough decision to resign from work which was my source of income to support the family, and come back to protect my mother,” Nthala explained.
The situation only changed when news reached Thunduwike Community Victim Support Unit, supported by UNICEF through the Mzimba North Social Welfare Office. The Unit summoned all parties involved, referred Mfungwe to the hospital and warned traditional leaders against bypassing the law.
Rollent Mtheto, the case management officer at the institution, said all concerned parties were summoned and the issue was resolved.
“We told the traditional leader that he acted against the laws of Malawi instead of protecting the victim, we referred the victim to the hospital, and that thereafter the issue should be taken to police,” Mtheto explained.
But still, a shocking gap remains as no arrests have been made. When #MBCDigital visited Mpherembe Police Station, officers claimed ignorance of both the suicide and the assault.
Cases like Mfungwe’s are not isolated. The United Nations has consistently warned about the vulnerability of older women to witchcraft-related violence. A 2014 UN report noted such accusations in at least 41 African and Asian countries, including Malawi.
Mzimba North Principal Social Welfare Officer, Lickson Ng’ambi, confirmed that Mfungwe has now been enrolled on the Social Cash Transfer Scheme to provide some support. But he stressed that justice must still be pursued.
When contacted to comment on the matter, Director of Malawi Network of Older Persons Organisation MANEPO Andrew Kavala expressed sadness on continued violation of rights of the older persons, regardless of several interventions.
Kavala said as some stakeholders are doing their best to sensitise communities on evils of mob justice over witchcraft accusations, law enforcers should also be performing their required role to curb the vice.
The Malawi Witchcraft Act is clear: accusing someone of witchcraft carries a penalty of up to K50,000 and five years imprisonment. Yet, without enforcement, the law remains a paper shield, leaving many elderly Malawians to live in fear.
For Mfungwe, the scars of the mob attack are not only physical but emotional as she lives each day with caution.
By Musase Cheyo
