Africa-Press – Zambia. POLICE in Sinda District of Eastern Province have apprehended missing teen’s family after discovery of the boy’s suspected skeleton near his village.
According to Eastern Province Police Commanding Officer Robertson Mweemba, Jason 14, was last seen in February when he finished work as a herdsboy for Aliness Banda, 53.
Mweemba narrated that after working for Aliness, Jason returned home, however, the following day, he failed to show up for piecework as a herdsboy.
He says that when Aliness inquired about Jason, the teenage boy’s mother, Deliya Mwale, 56, said he had travelled to Mozambique.
Mweemba narrates that, the mother alongside the son, Moses Phiri, 30, did not submit a missing person report to the Police.
He says after some months, Jason’s uncle, Charles Mwale visited his sister Deliya, where he heard startling rumours about the suspicious disappearance of his nephew.
He says when Mwale asked about the boy’s whereabouts, his sister and nephew gave unsatisfactory answers, prompting him to compel the family to open a missing person report with the Police.
Police thereafter opened an inquiry into the vanishing of Jason, and tasked the family to trace his whereabouts as they carried out an independent search.
Two weeks after, the family reported that they had failed to find the boy.
Yesterday, acting on fresh information from members of the public, Police rushed to a scene where skeletal remains including a skull, hip bones, ribs, and a section of spine where discovered.
Critical to this identification, was a pair of torn jeans recovered at the scene, matching clothing Jason was last seen wearing.
He says the remains have been released to the family for burial, with instructions to mark the grave for potential future exhumation and forensic examination.
While citing the strange behaviour of Deliya Mwale and Moses Phiri, particularly their initial failure to report Jason missing for months and their misleading explanation to his employer – police have detained the pair.
He says they face potential criminal charges as the investigation into Jason’s suspected murder intensifies.
Police also stated the detention was necessary to protect Mwale and Phiri from a hostile mob that gathered in the village, convinced of their involvement in the teenager’s death.
For More News And Analysis About Zambia Follow Africa-Press
