Malawi mob torch to death epilepsy sufferer, another stoned to death: Accused of being ‘bloodsuckers’

The vampire paranoia continue to cause unreast in the country as on Thursday in Blantyre a 22-year-old man, was torched and another was stoned to death following suspicion of s sucking people’s blood,  Malawi Police confirmed.

Police spokesman in southern region Ramsy Mushani confirmed that an angry mob at Chatha Village in  Blantyre  roughed a a 22-year-old man and in the process killing him  on suspicion that he was among the so-called bloodsuckers.

The deceased was found lying at a nearby graveyard, prompting the community to carry citizen arrest  and  left  him in the hands of police at Chatha Police checkpoint  but, after noticing that there were delays to take  him to Chileka Police Station, the public started pelting stones at officers who were manning the checkpoint.

The angry mob chased the police officers from the scene, forced the suspect out of the makeshift cell and set him ablaze.

Another victim was also  beaten to death without any basis.

Mushani saying identities of the victims were being verified but one was killed with a Islamic holy book Koran in his hand.

“Two people were killed by a mob for allegedly being blood suckers,” he said.  He said in Chileka the mobs “torched a 22-year-old epileptic man and another man was stoned to death after being suspected of being a bloodsucker.”

A family member confirmed the man was epileptic and that he was killed while walking home from a nearby hospital.

The saga, which has stirred tension and panic in Mulanje, Phalombe, Chiradzulu, Thyolo, Nsanje and parts of Blantyre, has led some development partners to withdraw their operations from affected districts. Seven people have been killed for being suspected to be bloodsuckers.

Stories of vampires sucking people’s blood in the dead of the night have been circulating in the country for weeks now.

President Peter Mutharika who has been visiting the bollodsucking hotspots linked the issue to witchcraft but Malawi laws do not recognise the practice.

Mutharika said he will let Paramount Chief Ngolongoliwa deal with the blood sucking saga  as it is connected with witchcraft.

Known locally as ‘anamapopa,’ these fearsome forces are described as  using both magical powers as well as modern technology to attack their  victims.

Their bizarre methodology is said to involve somehow disabling their  target using an electrical charge or chemical substance, removing their  blood via an unidentified instrument, and then vanishing in the form of a  cat or dog.