By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
THREE children of the same family in Chisanga Village in Chief Mwewa’s area in Samfya District were burnt to death after the grass thatched house they were in caught fire.
Luapula Province Police Commissioner Malcolm Mulenga said yesterday that the children, Astridah Chipulu, aged one year two weeks, Martin Chipulu, 2, and John Mwila, 4, died on Wednesday around 13:00 hours when their house caught fire.
Mr Mulenga said the incident happened when the mother Theresa Chilufya, 30, went to draw water from a distant stream.
“Preliminary investigations are that all the deceased juveniles were left in the house which the mother had locked while she had gone to draw water,” he said.
The father of the children James Chipulu, 45, was not home.
Mr Mulenga said the cause of the fire was not yet established but police suspect it was due to the negligence of the parents.
He said the mother said she had gone to draw water for some minutes just to find the house on fire and the children burnt beyond recognition.
Mr Mulenga said the three bodies have been buried.
Police have opened an inquiry file of murder and investigations were still on-going.
Meanwhile, a 51-year-old woman of Mutobi Village in Chief Chitembo’s area in Samfya was found dead in her house with a swollen face and bleeding from her private parts.
Mr Mulenga said Mary Mwelwa was found dead on Wednesday around 07:00 hours.
He said police who rushed to the scene found the body on the floor with a swollen face and she was bleeding from her nose, mouth and private parts as well as torn ladies underwear inserted in her private parts.
She is suspected to have been murdered between Tuesday 19:00 hours and Wednesday 07:00 hours.
The body was taken to Samfya District Hospital for postmortem.