Police  in Mansa have arrested an 18-year-old man for allegedly exhuming the body of a baby. The man is said to have been found at a graveyard holding the baby, which was wrapped in a blanket. Police spokesperson Esther Katongo said in a statement yesterday that the incident happened on Saturday around 16:00 hours at Mukanda cemetery.

“Police received a report of tampering with the dead and trespassing on a burial site in which Namwandwe villagers apprehended a man for allegedly exhuming the body of a baby,” she said. Ms Katongo said police visited the scene and found the body wrapped in a blanket. She named the suspect as Penias Ngosa of Kolala farm in chief Mabumba’s area. He allegedly used a hole to dig out the body. Ms Katongo said villagers confronted the suspect’s father, who told them that his son was mentally challenged.

“The suspect was found holding the dead baby. After efforts to find relatives of the baby failed, police, with help of the community, reburied the body,” she said. She said the suspect is in police custody and arrangements are being made to subject him to a mental screening to determine his mental status. In Lusaka, police have picked up the body of Kelvin Vilolo, 25, of Mutendere Township.

The body was found near Musanzala Bar in Hellen Kaunda around 07:20 hours yesterday. Ms Katongo said the body had no visible injuries. She said the deceased was last seen on Sunday evening drunk within the area. Meanwhile, a 50-year-old cyclist has died after being hit by a truck on the Chama-Lundazi road. Muchinga Province police commissioner Joel Njase said the accident happened on Thursday at19:30 hours near a Zesco substation. Mr Njase said the accident involved a Mercedes Benz truck laden with 102 bags of cotton and was being driven by Martin Zulu, 47, of Lundazi. He said the cyclist, Saidi Mfune, of Chief Kambombo’s area, who was moving in the same direction as the truck, allegedly veered into the path of the truck.