THIS  author while driving home from work  last week in the evening, had an opportunity to tune  in to Sun Fm, a community radio station based in Ndola and was privy to a phone-in programme whose topic was the increase in cases of elderly people being killed on suspicion of practising witchcraft.
Most of the callers during that programme roundly condemned the act of killing elderly people on the mere suspicion that they practised witchcraft without substantiating the same claims.
One of the callers further advised that the onus was on siblings nowadays to take care of their aged parents so that they do not appear as if they are tramps or neglected old folks.
He gave an example of the Mutanda old people’s home in Ndola where the aged have been dumped and forgotten by their relatives simply because they were not appealing to them or for various other reasons best known to them.
Another caller in contributing to the emotive topic suggested  that siblings have a responsibility to take care of their aged parents knowing well that at some point in life, they will also become old no matter how handsome or beautiful they may look today.
So if they choose to abandon their parents they are only planting a bad seed because they too will be abandoned by their siblings in future.
So such a tendency creates a virtuous circle in the family tree.
If people choose to neglect their parents now, they are doing it at their own peril because they are bound to grow old at some point in life as well and will need the support of family members.
In Lusaka there is the Matero old people’s home where this author had an opportunity to visit and interacted with most of the dwellers who were able to recount their ordeals of how they were abandoned by their siblings on suspicion of practising witchcraft or old age.
They were left in the care of the social welfare department to cater for their daily needs. The social welfare, being one department in Government, was not adequately funded and as such it could not afford certain supplies regularly to the aged inmates. Life there was totally miserable and called for attention from other well-wishers to intervene.
Surroundings were unkempt and it took a church organisation which came in and cleaned up the place and also donated a few items such as eating utensils as well as foodstuff and blankets.
Not to state that the same inmates were left at the mercy of well-wishers who donated various goodies ranging from washing powder, bathing soap, sugar and other essential foodstuff from time to time in order to supplement government’s efforts.
This newspaper on July 9, 2013 ran a story of an elderly couple suspected of practising witchcraft that was burnt to death by irate residents.
The residents in Kasongo area on the Ndola-Kitwe dual carriageway pounced on Jungo Chisola,80,and  his wife Mutengu Sankananu whom they beat  until they passed out and later piled tyres on them before setting them ablaze.
Mr Chisola’s body was burnt beyond recognition while his wife had her right leg dislodged from the body and intestines pulled out.
Police confirmed the killing of the couple and said two people had since been arrested in connection with the murder.
The residents became unruly and took the law in their own hands after accusing the couple of being behind the death of a man who died in a road traffic accident.
In another incident on July 12, 2013 a 65-year-old woman in Kabwe sustained body injuries after a mob allegedly stoned her while her 77-year-old husband escaped unhurt after the couple was attacked on suspicion of practising witchcraft.
The mob also set ablaze their kitchen and razed the lavatory as the couple’s house was partially damaged.
The incident which occurred on Wednesday night was ignited after the couple’s nephew identified as Aubrey Mulenga returned to their home in the company of a church prophet identified as Machiko to assist in establishing who had caused the death of Mulenga’s nephew.
The Human Rights Commission has on several occasions condemned the killing of the elderly on suspicion that they were practising witchcraft. The practice smacks on injustice. Life is sanctity and no person has a right to kill another for whatever reasons or the law will take its course on them and they stand to be prosecuted in the courts of law for murder.
Parents too should not neglect their children or vice-versa because the cost of doing so may be too gastly to contemplate.
Gender is my agenda. Contributions margaretmangani.@gmail.com