Africa-Press – Zambia. The Lusaka woman who was in April 2020 reported to have died in a priest’s house died of natural causes after suffering breathing challenges, a coroner has said.
Monica Mutale Mulenga, a member of the Womens’ Catholic League, died in April 2020, from the Parish Priests’ residence at Kaunda Square Catholic Church, while visiting Father Ringford Abel Mwelwa.
Following her demise, Fr. Mwelwa was suspended and an inquest was later instituted before the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court. Lusaka Magistrate Judith Chiyayika, sitting as a coroner, passed a closed verdict stating that 42-year-old Monica Mulenga died of a sudden cardiac arrest.
Delivering her verdict in the inquest, Monday, Coroner Chiyayika said from the evidence of the witnesses and State Pathologist Luchenga Muchelenganga, found that the deceased died of natural causes.
“From the evidence before me, it is my finding that the woman died of cardiac arrest whose origin is not known. The State pathologist gave a detailed explanation. From the findings she died of natural causes. I therefore, enter closed verdict,” said Coroner Chiyayika
During the inquest hearing, Dr. Mcheleng’anga, a State pathologist who conducted an autopsy on Ms Mulenga told the court that he established that the woman died of sudden cardiac arrest.
Dr Mcheleng’anga told the coroner that Mulenga of Lusaka West may have died of sudden cardiac arrest but he did not know its origin. He said Mulengas’ sudden death on April 8, 2020 may have been due to sudden cardiac arrest.
“So all in all, I conducted a postmortem on a 42-year-old woman who died in a home setting after taking tea and complaining of excessive sweating,” he said. Dr Muchelenganga said during the postmortem, he did an internal examination, examining all the organs of the deceased.
“Of no significance, the deceased had a big uterus that was deformed by fibroids. Because I didn’t see anything remarkable and unusually abnormal on everything I observed, I obtained samples from the heart, brain, kidneys, liver, lungs so that I could examine them further through the microscope. Further examination under the microscope revealed that she suffered high blood pressure based on evidence from the kidneys and an infection in her kidneys – chronic nephritis,” he said.
Dr Muchelenganga said he authored a report from the office of the State forensic pathologist which he signed and date stamped. “When I completed conducting this postmortem, I collected blood and sent it for toxicology examination to the Food and Drugs Laboratory so that they look for any common poison to see if there was anything. The laboratory sent me the results and the report indicated that they had not found any toxic substances in her blood,” he said.
He said the postmortem revealed an adult woman with no injuries. “Further examination of samples collected revealed that the deceased may have suffered from high blood pressure and uterus fibroids,” he said.
“Examination of the blood for toxic substances was negative from the Food and Drugs Laboratory so given these circumstances, postmortem findings and findings on auxiliary studies, microscope examination and blood that was tested for toxicology, it is logical that the death may have occured due to a sudden cardiac arrest, the origin of which I don’t know why she suffered sudden cardiac death,” he said.
And a police officer, detective Barbara Chiyanda 46, of Chelstone Police Station, stated that on April 9, 2020, she opened an inquiry into the death of Mulenga who died at 22:00 hours on her way to Levy Mwanawasa Hospital on April 8, 2020.
She said Mulenga died at the Priests house who had invited her and actually picked her up from Lusaka West. Meanwhile, Fr Mwelwa, 45, of Lusaka West, said he was a Catholic Priest and was suspended after the death of Mulenga.
“Arising from the death of Monica, I am on suspension. I am a Catholic Priest at the Parish at Kaunda Square. On 8th April 2020, I made a call to Monica asking her for a meeting and since she had no car, we arranged to have dinner at my home and around 16:00 hours, I phoned her to ask if her car was back from service but she said her brother had not yet returned it. I linked up with her at 19:45 hours and we arrived home at about 20:30. I wanted to prepare dinner but she said she will just have tea.
After finishing our tea with Marie biscuits, she said that she was feeling too hot and breathless, so I got a fan and switched it on, later I got a bottle of water and poured on her but she continued complaining about not feeling well, I told my assistant that the visitor was feeling sick, we needed to take her to Levy of which when we got there, the doctor told me that they couldn’t pump oxygen as she had fluids in her lungs and that she had died,” Fr Mwelwa said.
He said Mulenga was a member of St Maurice Parish in Lusaka West. When prosecutor Dennis Manda asked Mwelwa why he invited Mulenga for dinner, Fr Mwelwa said a Priest was not prohibited to have a member of the church visit for dinner.
“A Priest is not prohibited to have a visitor who comes to stay there for a day or week for a holiday. Just like any other visitor. Gender is not a factor in terms of who can visit or not visit, ladies are welcome to visit and priests also are not prohibited to visit any parishioner,” he said. Fix: Fr Mwelwa(far right) conversing with his lawyer Petronela Kafumbe at the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court today.
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