THERE is a reported increase in the number of children, especially boys, being abducted and killed for suspected ritual activities in Lusaka’s Mandevu Compound. The residents claimed that there was a rise in reports of children being kidnaped and killed especially boys for ritual purposes and parents were now living in fear for their kids. Area councilor Teddy Mwaba confirmed receiving reports of missing children, especially small boys. Mr Mwaba has since urged parents not to leave children unattended to when going to school. “Parents should escort them to and from school to avoid such nasty incidents”, he said And in separate interviews with the Sun, one of the concerned residents Mercy Phiri said the neighbourhood had become dangerous and it was unsafe to leave kids alone. Ms Phiri said as a community they had developed a habit of moving with the children everywhere they went such as churches, community meeting, and market places among others because it was not safe leaving them alone. “As residents of Mandevu we have received a lot of reports of boys being abducted and killed and as parents we fear losing our children, “You can’t just leave the children in the neighborhood alone, we have to move with them everywhere we go as if they are handbags for fear of them being abducted,” she said. Another resident Judy Lubinda said the most vulnerable were grade one kids who were allegedly being abducted and killed. Ms Lubinda appealed to Zambia police to look into the matter and apprehend the culprits. But when contacted for a comment, acting Zambia Public Relations Officer, Danny Mwale said no reports of abducted or killed children in Mandevu had been received. Mr Mwale said not every report that residents reported at police posts reached the Headquarters because some cases could be easily handled at that level. “They are some cases, which a police post feels it can handle and in such cases the head office does not received reports,” he said. Mr Mwale however assured the residents of Mandevu that the officers were alert and were doing patrols.
He urged the residents of Mandevu to report to the police such issues for investigations instead of just keeping them to themselves.
