Outgoing DC for Dowa, Alex Mdooko very shocking and sad news
Outgoing District Commissioner for Dowa Alex Mdooko, says he has learnt with a great shock disturbing video clip showing dead bodies in their decomposed state being pulled out from a house at Mayani village in the area of Traditional Authority Chakhaza in the district.
According to the video clip in circulation in various social media platforms, a woman and six children died on the same spot when a wall of a house in which they were sleeping in fell on them in the accident believed to have happened on the night of 23rd December, 2022 following heavy rains.
According to Traditional Authority Chakhaza, the incident went unnoticed till 25th December, 2022 saying the house had a kitchen standing next to it and that it was the kitchen wall adjacent to the house that fell first and caused the adjacent house wall to collapse burying occupants.
Chief Chakhaza said the occupants of the house died on the same spot but the outsiders didn’t notice this because the outside wall of the kitchen was intact as it shielded and overshadowed the collapsed section and it looked as if nothing had happened.
….’’I was not informed of the deaths of seven people in one house, I only learnt of the incident at the time that their bodies were being escorted to the graveyard for burials,’’…..he said.
The chief has since advised communities in the district that emergencies’ like these when they occur they need to be reported to the relevant authorities for action saying he is equally concerned that no one of the district’s senior officials was informed.
And speaking at the Extra Ordinary full council meeting which was his last to attend in the district, outgoing District Commissioner for Dowa Alex Mdooko, advised Civil Protection Committees and Community Policing teams to strengthen their working relationship and see to it that during the rainy season which is also a disaster prone period, there should be a lot of vigilance and patrolling of neighborhoods to easily detect such incidences to save lives.
Mdooko said he found this incident to be one of those wake-up calls that there is need to do more to prevent occurrence of such incidences and respond to such issues as they occur.
…..’’This should be a wake-up call to everyone in the district to prevent occurrence of such incidences especially during this rainy season which is a disaster prone period,’’….he said.
Narrating how he got the information of the incident, Mdooko said it was his relation who got wind of the video clip from social media and sent it to him to authenticate the story.
Mdooko said he made inquiries with the police in Mponela and the Member of Parliament for Chakhaza North constituency Hon. Enos Kanyerere Chitatanga but his phone was not reachable so too, the Director of Health and Social Services Dr. Peter Makozah.
He said surprisingly, the Director of Health and Social Services too was not aware of the incident despite the fact that it was the Bowe Health Centre’s personnel that went with the police to confirm the death of the seven people in the house.
The outgoing DC said after learning of the incident, he started arranging for coffins but it was too late as people of the area where the incident occurred were coming back from the graveyard for burials.