Police in Mzimba say they are still looking for suspects who harrassed two elderly women by beating them up and forcing them to bury a dead body at a graveyard in Mandala Zimba Village at Eswazini area in Mzimba.

Mzimba Police Public Relations Officer Peter Botha said family members accused the victim Christina Mphande, from the village, which is under Traditional Authority Kampingo Sibande in the district, of bewitching her daughter-in-law who died in South Africa.

Botha said the dead body was repatriated back home on Friday and during the burial ceremony, a group of people pulled the victim and forced her to bury the body alone.

When the victim was forced to start burying the dead, her sister joined her to offer help.

Botha said in the process, some people assaulted the victim to the extent that she lost two of her teeth.

She was also later forced into the grave, where she was to be buried alive until she was rescued by her sister and daughters.

Meanwhile, the Malawi Network of Elderly Persons Organization (MANEPO) has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of people involved in the recent harassment of two elderly women in Mzimba district who were forced to bury a dead person over witchcraft allegations.

In a their statement signed Executive director Andrew Kavala, MANEPO has attributed the continued abuse, discrimination and killings of older persons to failure by law enforcement agencies to prosecute those who accuse older persons of practising witchcraft.

Inkosi Ya Makosi Mmbelwa the Fifth has also weighed in on the matter describing the incident as shocking and saddening.

The Ngoni chief says witchdoctors are also to blame for such incidents.

Mzimba police spokesperson Peter Botha says police are now hunting for men alleged to have beaten up the women before forcing them to bury the dead body in the area of Inkosi Kampingo Sibande.