Life sentence for man who killed farmer and buried body in pit

A COLD-BLOODED killer who brutally butchered a 35-year-old farmer with an axe and buried his body in a shallow pit has been jailed for life.

​Fombe Nyamatchilenga launched a violent attack on innocent Moses Semu before callously hiding his remains in a hole.

​Alarm bells rang when Mr Semu’s cattle returned home alone from grazing in Chipakuza Village, Nsanje District.

​A frantic search was launched and the tragic victim’s body was discovered buried in the dirt. A post-mortem revealed he had died from a horrific, severe head injury.

​Police raided Nyamatchilenga’s home, uncovering a bloody horror scene—recovering a blood-stained axe, a deadly panga knife, and a gore-soaked T-shirt.

​The cowardly killer fled the village when quizzed by locals, but eagle-eyed cops finally tracked him down and arrested him in Chilomoni Township, Blantyre.

​Prosecutor Layna Kulesi, from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, proved Nyamatchilenga was at the scene of the crime and nailed him with the damning forensic evidence found at his house.

​Two other men originally charged over the 2014 horror, Willy Semu and Mark Kaunde, walked free after the court ruled there was insufficient evidence against them.

​Justice Chimwemwe Chima delivered the crushing verdict at the High Court’s Criminal Division in Blantyre, handing Nyamatchilenga a life sentence following his conviction for murder.