WOMAN DIVORCES SPOUSE OVER SUSPECTED RITUALS
In a chilling case that shocked Matero Local Court, a 36-year-old woman from Chisamba has been granted divorce from her husband, whom she accused of attempting to sacrifice their two daughters in a ritual to gain wealth.
Bertha Mumbi told the court that her husband, Abel Ngoma, 46, of Chibombo, allegedly plotted to kill their two daughters—aged 11 and 7—as part of ritual instructions he received from a witchdoctor in 2021.
Testifying before Magistrate Lewis Mumba, Mumbi said Ngoma even made a small coffin in preparation for the supposed death of their firstborn and kept it in their matrimonial bedroom for four consecutive nights after she refused to participate in the scheme.
“By then, he had already made a small coffin in readiness for the death of my firstborn. He never told me about the coffin he made. We slept for four days with it under our bed,” she said.
Mumbi said the plan was brought to light by the witchdoctor’s informant, who approached her to demand compensation for cancelling the agreement, since she had refused to consent to the sacrifice.
ZDM