A 30-year-old mentally ill man of Muchimba village in chief Musungwa’s chiefdom has set ablaze a teacher’s house at Shikabunga Basic School destroying personal property worth K17 million and other government school documents.
A ZANIS crew which rushed to the scene, found the house gutted and the owner, Chompia Mbawa watching helplessly.
Mr Mbawa told ZANIS that 30 year old Gerald Muchimba a mentally ill person walked to his house yesterday as he was resting and told him that he wanted to burn his house.
“This man came to my house and told me he wants to burn my house. I was actually in my house resting and just saw smoke entering my house and when I got out I, found flames on the roof of my grass- thatched house” he said.
“The only things I have managed to save are my life, my National Registration card and my ATM Card. My blankets, clothes, college certificates, confirmation letters , pupils’ books, 15x50kgs of white maize and 32x50Kgs of shelled groundnuts have all been burnt” he said.
Mr. Mbawa said being the only teacher at the school, he was the custodian of all government documents for the school including pupils’ books.
“There is no office at this school so I keep all the necessary documents in the house and all have been burnt” he said.
He said that he informed the Parents Teachers Association Chairperson and the village headman about the insane man who has been camping at a nearby abandoned house at the Shikabunga Basic School.
Mr. Mbawa said that the insane man’s presence at the school has scared school children and kept them from attending lessons for fear of being attacked by him.
“My pupils have stopped coming to school because they fear of being attacked by this man. We have reported this matter to local community leaders but nothing has been done” he said.
And some villagers interviewed separately told ZANIS that Gerald was last week taken to Namwala Hospital were he was diagnosed to be mentally disturbed and was given some prescription drugs to be taken under strict supervision by the father.
“We are surprised why his father that was given responsibility to be keeping an eye on this man has let him move on his own. He was told to take him back to hospital if the situation worsened” said one villager.
Meanwhile Gerald Muchimba has been arrested and detained at Itezhi-tezhi police station.
ANIS
stranger than fiction.
No 1. Feel sorry for both the guy and the teacher. I wish the government can compesate the teacher.
Opps I missed out on being number 1. Next time
So sad, take the mad man to chainama.
This must have been one big thatched house to house all those bags of maize and groundnuts
It is pretty sad indeed.Anyhow,i presume this mentally ill man had some hidden issues with this teacher who knows! Especially that the teacher was even warned before hand by this mad man,i think the should have done better to rescue his dilapidated house!
Plus wabomba mani!, to remove all of those things in such a short time, were you expecting him?
Gerald Muchimba of Muchimba village… Stranger than fiction.
I also reckon it is an outreach area……just having one teacher at school?There are could be so many strings attached to this burning of the teacher’s house.One of the reason could be superstition;may be the mentally ill man was told by the isangomas(witchdoctors)that the teacher is responsible for his illness hence it was one way of showing his anger and revenge at this teacher.
Sad story. Why isn’t this mentally ill man not in hospital for treatment ? if Chainama or other institutions are filled up, then why don’t the relatives watch over him? We should never neglect our relatives just because they have nothing to offer in terms of material things. Sick or healthy, we have to treat them with dignity and respect as they reflect our inner self. they are our blood through and through.
Ok this makes sad reading but I couldn’t just help laugh out as I read the story!Sorry brotherman,our teacher but this story has just cracked me up.Just what goes on in the minds of mad people?Awe mwandini bwafya.I was picturing the whole episode in my mind.Ok chabipa ba kafundisha mukalamba besu.I graduated from that school but by then there was even no teacher not even a building but we were comfortable learning under a tree with lots of fresh air.
These teachers also let themselves down by agreeing to sleep in a grass thached house. That is being ignorant of his rights. What type of school which has got only one teacher? This is cheating the community. People must be serious when building schools. They must close this school until infrastructure has been improved. Coming to the mentally ill man, it is unfortunate the country has no mental health act authorising the police to arrest or remove mentally ill people roaming the streets, eating garbage and exposing their private parts. The police are supposed to take these people to Chainama or nearest mental institution. This has been talked about among mental health workers for a long time now but politicians are not willing to help. They just want to fatten themselves
I remember around 1996/7 a mentally ill woman who had camped outside UTH was impregnanted by unknown man,highly rumoured was by a UTH worker. She was only taken to Chainama for treatment after giving birth and issue was made public on television. This is how uncaring our community is. Let the police take that man to Chainama for treatment, keeping him in police cells will not solve anything. If this man is treated he can live a decent life. Telling his father to look after him is running away from responsibility. Mental illness is never treated like malaria and you can not tell his father to be looking after this man at home. It shows lack of education by a prescribing health worker. The patient needs rehabilitation, medication alone is not enough.
I wonder why only one teacher is inchanrge of a basic school? Zambia is hearding to nowhere. this is a shame why gvt do not send graduants from teacher training colleges?? And If Sata is right by saying that Thandiwe is still on payrole as a teacher, Nothing good will come out of gvt workers who are paying someone without knowing whether dead, alive or changed occupation.