By: Wonder Guchu
The grave of a boy who was buried on 11 August 2021 at Katima Mulilo’s Daily cemetery on the outskirts of the town was dug up and the coffin left lying in the open on Thursday night.
The boy has been identified as Nyambe Aldo Munyakwavo.
News of the violation of Aldo’s grave came Friday morning when the police were also informed about a fresh human leg that was found in a canoe at Silambala conservancy in Katima Mulilo rural constituency, about 15km from Ngoma.
According to the police, whoever dug up the grave wanted a piece of the tracksuit the boy was buried in.
The other material such as sheets which were used to wrap the boy’s body were left hanging out of the coffin that was ripped open and left lying in the sun.
There were also bits and pieces of other material left scattered around the grave.
Zambezi regional police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Evans Simasiku confirmed both incidents on Friday.
Simasiku said the grave could have been violated Thursday night or Friday morning.
He said the discovery was made by people who were burying another person next to the grave.
The grave of the person who was buried Friday morning was dug Thursday when the boy’s grave was still untouched.
Simasiku said the body was not mutilated but that whoever dug up the grave and pulled out the coffin just cut out a part of the track suit the boy was buried in.
His grandfather Nyambe Munyakwavo said he was aged one-year and five months but Simasiku said the boy was six.
The grandfather said the boy started vomiting and was taken to hospital a day before he died.
“I was told by someone who was attending a burial,” the grandfather said.
When The Villager spoke to the grandfather, the police were still at the cemetery.
An eyewitness said there were footprints at the grave, suggesting that some people dug out the grave, and took out the coffin.
Simasiku said they sought legal opinion and were told Friday that the family can go ahead and rebury the body.
THE HUMAN LEG
According to Simasiku, a herder who was going to fetch water was shocked to find a fresh human leg in the canoe he was using.
Simasiku said although the leg was fresh, there was no blood oozing out.
The leg, Simasiku said, could have been left in the canoe between Thursday night and Friday morning because the canoe is used every day.
He said the police have not yet received any reports of missing people or of any grave that has been violated.
Deputy commissioner Simasiku said this is the first time he is seeing this kind of thing in all his time in the police force.
