By Rahim Abdul
Police in Lilongwe have arrested Norman Kambanje, 30, for having sexual intercourse with a girl, 17, on the pretext of fulfilling a witch doctor’s advice purportedly aimed at recovering a stolen cellphone on September 14, 2025.
On the said day, at around 10:00 hours, the victim left Area 25 on instructions from her mother in Thyolo, who told her to meet the suspect in Area 36 to collect on her behalf, a cellphone that was stolen in the district, but was reported recovered in Lilongwe by a witch doctor.
Upon meeting at Mwenyekondo, the suspect gave the victim herbals to chew as the first ritual to recover the cellphone.
He then advised the girl to be cooperative while threatening that she would die if she refused any further demands the suspect was to make.
Then the suspect took the victim to a certain resthouse where he defiled her multiple times as demanded, purportedly by the witch doctor, again as part of rituals to recover her mother’s missing cellphone.
The suspect released the girl the next morning without the cellphone.
He claimed that it failed because they did not fulfill the rituals, saying the six sexual rounds they did fell short of the recommended number purportedly advised by the witch doctor, which was ten rounds.
Upon her release, the girl revealed what she had gone through to her family, who later reported the same to the police.
The victim was referred to Kamuzu Central Hospital for a medical examination where defilement was confirmed.
A few days later, before his arrest, the suspect kept on making phone calls, inviting the victim to Area 36 for a similar experience while issuing more death threats.
Investigations show that the suspect, personally knew the family back in Thyolo, and he was aware that the girl was in Lilongwe for her school holidays.
He took advantage of the situation to play his witch-doctor tricks on the victim’s mother so that he could gain access to the girl to fulfill his criminal desires on the girl.
Kabanje will appear in court soon to answer a case of Having Sexual Intercourse with a Child.
He hails from Ndazadala Village, Traditional Authority Nsabwe in Thyolo District.
