By White Luhanga
A 20-Year-Old Boy in Chama District of Eastern Province had his right palm amputated after a teargas canister dropped by the police during an operation exploded in his hands.
The victim, admitted to Chama District Hospital, has been identified as Jerald Kumwenda of Katangalika village in Chief Kambombo’s Chiefdom.
Eastern Province Police Commissioner Robertson Mweemba confirmed the incident, stating that it occurred on November 8, 2025, around 14:00 hours.
Brief facts are that some villagers had hired a Malawian witch doctor, identified as Kanjoka, to heal the sick within the village who were believed to have been bewitched.
It is alleged that the Witch Doctor had not obtained permission from the police, prompting some community members to report him.
Mr. Mweemba says police went to the village and found the Witch Doctor together with his counterparts performing rituals at a graveyard within the village.
Mr. Mweemba says police officers ordered them to stop the ritual practices and accompany them to the Police Station, but they refused to listen.
He says some people became unruly and started throwing stones at the police officers.
As the situation got tense, police officers fired some warning shots in the air and discharged some teargas to calm the situation, and unknowingly, a canister dropped from the police motor vehicle.
He says a cousin to the victim, Nathan Lungu, came across a teargas canister and took it home.
Mr. Mweemba says as the boy reached home, the victim, Jerald, who had just returned from the farm, got the teargas in a quest to know what it was, and in the process, the teargas canister exploded and badly disfigured his right palm.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mweemba expressed sadness, saying the man’s palm would not have been cut if not for what transpired in the village.
The victim was rushed to Mwalala Rural Health Center and later