Wife tells court of affair before husband allegedly killed daughter and abandoned son

A grandmother has given harrowing testimony at the High Court in Kasungu, describing the chain of events that led to the discovery of her granddaughter’s body in a bush – and her grandson being found abandoned nearby, but alive.

Jane Harawa, 49, the mother of murder suspect Medium Nyirongo, was the first State witness called to give evidence in the trial, telling the court how her son had asked her in December 2022 to send his two children – Jane and Emmanuel – from Rumphi District to stay with him in Kasungu for what was meant to be a short holiday.

Children sent back to their father just weeks before tragedy

Harawa told the court that on 23 January 2023, after the children had returned home to Rumphi, she contacted Nyirongo to say she wished to send them back to him, explaining she could no longer afford to care for them herself. The following day, she duly sent the children to Kasungu.

Less than three weeks later, on 12 February 2023, Harawa received a call from Kasungu Police asking about the children’s whereabouts. She was subsequently informed that her granddaughter, Jane, had been found dead in a bush.

Grandmother identifies granddaughter’s clothing

Harawa told the court she travelled from Rumphi to Kasungu, where police showed her clothing recovered from the scene. She identified the items as belonging to her granddaughter, whose remains were later laid to rest at Chimkoka Village.

Wife tells court of affair and separation before tragedy

The court also heard from a second State witness, Alinafe Mwale, 24, Nyirongo’s wife, who told the court she shared two children with the accused and that the family had lived together at Chinkhoma Trading Centre in Kasungu.

Mwale testified that she discovered her husband was having an affair in 2022, a revelation that led to serious disagreements between the couple. She eventually left the family home, leaving the two children in Nyirongo’s care.

Toddler found alive after being abandoned

Mwale told the court that on 12 February 2023 – the same day her mother-in-law learned of Jane’s death – police informed her that her two-year-old son, Emmanuel, had been found alive in a bush, where he had apparently been abandoned by his own father.

The toddler was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment and examination, accompanied by caregiver Annie Abraham Mazangwira.

Case adjourned as more witnesses expected

Following the testimony of both State witnesses, the court, presided over by Justice Bruno Kalemba, adjourned the matter to a later date, with further witnesses expected to be called when proceedings resume.

Nyirongo remains in custody.

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