Zambian woman found keeping her husband’s dead body for 2 years

A 51-year-old woman and her four children have been arrested in Lusaka in connection with the death of her husband. The police uncovered skeletal remains of her husband within her home in Garden Compound, nearly one and a half years after his family had been unable to locate him.

The remains of the deceased, identified as George Kalaba, were discovered lying on a bed, reduced to a skeleton, indicating that he had been deceased for an extended period.

The man’s family had reportedly been inquiring about his whereabouts since July 2023, but the woman consistently denied them access to him.

Police Spokesperson Rae Hamoonga has confirmed the incident, which was initially reported the previous day as a missing person case by the deceased's elder brother.

Mr Hamoonga has further identified the suspects as Sylvia Mutoba Kalaba, the deceased’s wife, along with her children: Natasha, aged 19, Sandra, aged 22, Wendi, aged 27, and a juvenile female.

He noted that during a follow-up investigation after the report, police officers found the woman and her children had barricaded themselves inside the house along with the skeletal remains.

Silvia Kabala has claimed that she is a Prophetess and that her husband died of natural causes and that she was advised by a ritualist from Tanzania not to bury her husbands deceased body. But keep it and use it for prayers.

Zambian police have arrested a 6th person in this case. A woman who was aware of the deceased being in the house and had visited the home numerous times to conduct prayers with Mrs Kabala. They say the prayers were done as a ritual to resurrect Mr George Kabala.

The skeletal remains have been buried by Mr Kabala’s family and friends.