A 20-year old man from Tunyi Village, Kalambo District of Rukwa Region, believed to have been killed and devoured by a hyena ten months ago, has resurfaced.
The man, Matipa Sizunzu, was seen by his relatives grazing a herd of cattle belonging to one of the pastoralists, Juma Maeka, in the same precinct.
Surprisingly, it was the same herd of cattle he was grazing when he disappeared; leading relatives to arrange his funeral while the owner of the cattle paying 1m/- as compensation to the family.
Impeccable sources recounted that Matipa disappeared from the public view in September 2016, with his close relatives mounting a manhunt for him without successes and subsequently deciding to arrange his funeral, believing that he had been attacked and devoured by a hyena.
Two days ago, Matipa’s relatives spotted him grazing cattle in the area and tried to take him home by force, but it was at that moment that Maeka appeared and fracas ensued. It is further alleged that Maeka refused to return Matipa to his family, insisting that his relatives were to repay him 1m/- cash, being the money he gave the family during the boy’s funeral.
The Councillor of the area, Mr Julius Siwale, confirmed the incident and added, “After his funeral (Matipa), each one of us in the village believed that the young man had died, suspecting that he had been attacked and eaten by a hyena while grazing herd of cattle belonging to Maeka,” he explained.
Expounding further, Mr Siwale said that after the clash between the irate relatives of the Matiba and the pastoralist, the ward leadership convened a meeting to address the matter and subsequently ordered Maeka to return the young man, with immediate effect, to his family.
Similarly, the same meeting ordered the pastoralist to pay 100,000/- in cash to the family as punishment for disturbance. The Mambwe Nkoswe Ward Executive Officer (WEO), Mr Oswald Kalindo, said that following a report of the sudden disappearance of the young man ten months ago, villagers mounted a search, but could not find him.
They subsequently decided to arrange a funeral believing that he had been killed by wild beasts. The WEO added that the discovery of the young man has brought happiness and not only to the family of Matipa, but also to the whole village as they believed that he had died.
Credit :Daily news
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