A 25-year-old man of Mutinda Village in Chief Luchembe’s area of Kanchibiya District has committed suicide following a domestic dispute over caterpillars.
The media reports that Muchinga Province Police Commanding Officer Dennis Moola has identified the deceased as Haggai Chanda.
Mr Moola said the incident occurred between November 13, 2025, around 23:00 hours and November 14, 2025, around 05:00 hours.
He said on November 13, 2025, around 17:00 hours, Mr Chanda and his wife, Lucia Chanda, aged 22, went drinking within the village and returned home around 23:00 hours.
Mr Moola explained that upon reaching home, the now deceased demanded two gallons of caterpillars from his wife, intending to exchange them for beer.
He said Mrs Chanda informed her husband that she had taken the caterpillars to her mother-in-law for safekeeping, which angered him as he suspected she had sold them.
Mr Moola said Mr Chanda expressed his anger by damaging the door and the house before assaulting his wife, who fled and went into hiding.
He said the deceased was later seen leaving the house carrying a flashlight and a mosquito net, heading towards his mother’s house.
Mr Moola said on November 14, 2025, around 05:00 hours, the deceased’s nephew, Renard Chanda, aged 15, went to his uncle’s house to check on him.
He said Mrs Chanda told the nephew that her husband was at her mother-in-law’s place, prompting him to go there.
“On his way, the juvenile found his uncle hanging dead from a Musuku tree using a mosquito net rope and rushed back to inform his aunt,” Mr Moola said.
He said Mrs Chanda went to the scene and confirmed finding her husband hanging from the tree before reporting the matter to Mpika Police Station.
Mr Moola said police have opened an inquiry file and advised relatives to bury the deceased and mark the grave for possible exhumation.
He said no foul play is suspected in the incident.
