Maid commits suicide at employer’s house

Police in Lusaka have received a report of suspected suicide in which a living-in maid aged 46, is alleged to have committed suicide from her employer’s home in Lusaka’s Olympia township.

Zambia Police Service Spokesperson Esther Katongo said the incident happened in the early hours of today, January 21, 2021 at around 05:20 hours.

Ms. Katongo said the body of the deceased maid was discovered by her employer in a swimming pool outside the house.

In a statement to ZANIS in Lusaka today, Ms. Katongo said according to the employer, the maid, named Anastasia Mulenga, was missing from her bedroom in the morning.

This prompted the employer to search for Anastasia during which an empty bottle of pesticide namely doom was found on the floor of the kitchen room.

Ms. Katongo explained that the deceased’s employer said the pesticide was bought by her and was intended for killing cockroaches. The pesticide was stored in the kitchen display.

“The report was made by the employer of the now-deceased person aged 54 that her maid identified as Anastasia Mulenga aged 46 was discovered dead when she had gone to check on her after noticing that she was not responding to the persistent alarm on her phone (maid’s phone) at about 05:00 hours,” Ms. Katongo stated.

Police have since visited the scene and found the body in the swimming pool without visible injuries.

The body has since been taken to UTH mortuary for postmortem to ascertain the cause of death while an inquiry in the matter has been launched.