The shocking murder of Faustina Mwila, a 13-year-old girl of Lusaka’s Kalundu area, deserves proper investigation. It should not be brushed off as just one of those things that happen.
A girl’s life, and from what the locals say, maybe three other girls, have been lost in an unclear circumstances.
This in itself is worrying. Four young girls killed in four years and no one has been arrested. Does it mean there are no investigations taking place?
Who will speak for these voiceless poor families that have lost loved ones through horrific murders and they do not get any closure because there no investigations carried out or if they do, then the public or families have not be told anything about the outcomes.
This is unfortunate and a sad situation for any family to endure. The suspense of not knowing who or what took the life of a loved one can have a telling effect on the family. It is for this reason that we also feel that families need counselling.
Especially this mother, who spent days looking for her missing daughter not knowing that she was lying in some field, dead.
To make matters worse, some ‘men of God’ had led her to believe that her daughter was still alive. On top of that, the ‘men of God’ also asked for money in order to pray for the safety of the missing child.
Faustina’s mother, Brenda, went from pastor to prophet, hoping to find her daughter who had been missing for two days.
One pastor asked for K20 before seeing her and K50 for anointing oil, which she readily paid.
When she requested for special prayers, Ms Mwila was asked to pay K100 but she did not have enough and therefore the request could not be carried out.
And some residents have called for investigations into the matter as this death could be a result of a suspected serial killer as this was not the first girl to die in this manner.
