CLIP RITUAL KILLERS
THE country has yet again been struck by marauding ritual killers, who are savagely removing body parts from their victims in Lusaka.
It appears there is an organised ring of murderers some of them foreigners, who are baying for blood and vital body organs which they are offering for rituals. They are mostly targeting the heart, liver and private parts.
History indicates that Lusaka has been a target of ritual murders as the dastard pattern dates back to the 80s when a prowler commonly referred to as Lusaka strangler pounced on young ladies whom he coerced and later strangled.
In the ensuing search, a soldier identified as Mufungulwa Sipalo was arrested but eluded law enforcement officers within Lusaka Central Police building. He jumped off the building while in handcuffs and plunged to his death as people watched in awe.
He was suspected to have killed about 25 young ladies in similar circumstances.
In 2012, a National Institute for Public Administration student Ruth Mbandu was gruesomely killed in Emmasdale, with her facial skin peeled off and other body parts desecrated.
Within a short period of the same year, a beautician Sharon Kapembwa was killed in Matero while in Woodlands Mazuba Kapembwa was brutally murdered and her body dumped near her home.
Later, 30-year-old Thandiwe Longwe was found unconscious with head injuries in Ng’ombe Township but died as she was being taken to the University Teaching Hospital.
In 2016, the ugly pattern recurred when about six people were killed, including 30-year-old Anthony Mwaba whose heart, ears and other vital body parts were removed in George Township.
The sad development sparked riots in Chunga and Matero townships as rampaging residents torched shops of people they suspected to have been behind the murders.
This time around, the macabre has taken a new dimension where a mastermind went a step further, cooking human hearts and livers which he ate and later shared with unsuspecting neighbours in a bizarre feast.
Strong indications are that perpetrators of this crime use the body parts for rituals after consulting fake herbalists who are obviously complicit to this heinous crime.
They are misled into believing that they would become powerful and influential in society.
Perhaps, traditional “doctors” also advise these desperate and merciless killers that they would be able to amass wealth if they offered for ritual delicate human body parts from people who are relatively young.
It is also believed that the body parts once offered for ritual could give them protection of all sorts including from prosecution if they committed crimes.
In many instances, criminals who are gunned down or arrested by police are found with charms around their bodies used as “protection.”
As Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo said in Parliament on Thursday, all residents must remain vigilant and avoid jumping into private vehicles whose owners they are not familiar with.
Secondly, residents must avoid lone movements in secluded areas while school children must always be escorted by their parents to schools that are far away from their homes.
It is also advisable for people to stop wandering about in the night while those in shifts that extend to odd hours should move in groups.
Police should intensify patrols in all areas and also engage in community policing which is the most effective way of maintaining law and order. The public on the other hand, must cooperate with police officers.
Remedial measures should be spread to all parts of the country because criminals are usually mobile and can strike even in remote areas.
All Zambians must come together and clip the ravaging serial killers!