Zambia: 32 year old woman and her 2 year old son of Chasefu District in Eastern Province, have died after taking tablets used to preserve maize grain. The law enforcement authorities of Chasefu District said that the victims took the tablets out of their own will.
The authorities have identified the 32-year-old woman as Alice Liche. She and her son were residents of the Kambwe Village in Senior Chief Magodi ‘s area.
The authorities believe that they died on Sunday between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. The older deceased took the poisonous tablets and also gave them to her baby.
Eastern Province Police Commissioner, Limpo Liywalii has confirmed the incident. He said that the force received the reports of the incident from 36-year-old Elias Mvula. The individual was also a resident of the same village and related to the victim.
The police force shared that they received the call reporting the suicide at around 7:00 PM. Alice Liche had committed suicide by taking an unknown number of maize preservative tablets. Elias Mvula informed the officers that Alice had also given the tablets to her two year old son before she died.
According to the Police Commissioner, Alice arrived at her village in the late afternoon of November 26 together with her child. They had come from Hoya Trading Centre where she was doing her business.
The victim’s mother was present at the home at the time of her return. Later, Commissioner Liywalii explained that at around 5:30, the mother was surprised to see her daughter vomiting inside the house.
The mother also reported that she saw four tablets used to preserve maize beside her daughter. Afterwards, the mother also noticed that her grandchild was unconscious.
The Eastern Province Police Chief said it was at this point that the two were rushed to Kanyanga Rural Health Centre where they were admitted and both died in the evening.
Liywalii disclosed that the bodies of the deceased had since been deposited in Chasefu Mini Hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem, while an inquiry file had been opened to facilitate investigations.