Neighbours Describe Strange Behaviour of Woman Arrested in Husband’s Death

By Lucky Phiri

Sylvia Kalaba, the woman apprehended in connection with the bizarre death of her husband in Lusaka’s Garden Compound, is said to have been living in solitude.

Neighbours have described to ZNBC News the woman’s strange behaviour towards the end of 2023, saying she used to claim her husband was sick and that he was being nursed by his relatives.

One of the neighbours, Chomba Mulenga, says Ms. Kalaba, aged 51, also used to hold prayers every day, making it difficult to understand how her husband’s death went unnoticed for a long time.

Brenda Phiri, another neighbour, has said the woman and her four children used to lock themselves inside the house while conducting prayers.

In this incident, police yesterday discovered the skeletal remains of Mrs. Kalaba’s husband inside her house. He is suspected to have died one and a half years ago.

During this period, the family could not establish his whereabouts.

The remains of Mr. Kalaba were found lying on a bed, reduced to a skeleton, suggesting that he had been dead for a significant period of time.