People in Chongwe were shocked and sad when they found out that a 56-year-old woman had been brutally killed by her son, who was said to have mental illness.
Joshua Bwalya, a 28-year-old man from Chansango village, killed his mother and buried her in a bush 900 meters away from her house. Not even the cries of the woman who nursed him when he was a baby could make him feel bad.
It is said that Ruth Nyanvula made all kinds of noises and cried out for help from her once-kind child, Bwalya, who killed her by cutting her up and setting her on fire before burying her.
Police say that the incident happened near Mpango Secondary School in Chongwe around 23:00 yesterday.
A student at the school in question heard the dead woman calling for help in her house, which was near the boarding school houses.
The student told the head teacher about the problem, but they didn't go to the house because the noise only lasted a short time.
But at 8:00 a.m. the next day, the head teacher, some students, and people from the community went to Nyanvula's house to find out what happened during the night.
When they got to the house, they didn't find the woman, but they did find Bwalya near a bush. He was covered in blood, and he was standing near the bush.
When someone asked Bwalya where his mother was, he made up a story that she had gone on a business trip.
When people in the neighborhood realized he was lying and opened the door, they found a pool of blood on the floor. That's when the head teacher called the police.
When the police arrived, they found a body that had been cut up. They arrested Bwalya and he later showed them where he had buried his mother.
Danny Mwale, the deputy spokesperson for the Zambian Police, confirmed the incident and said that the body of the person who died has been taken to the Chongwe District Hospital Mortuary to wait for an autopsy.
Mwale also said that the suspect is being held in police custody while the situation is being looked into.