A routine morning patrol on a tobacco farm has turned into a scene from a horror movie, sparking waves of panic and superstition across the Eastern Province.

The silence of Chipangali District has been shattered by a discovery that defies explanation. Benjamin Banda, a 52-year-old tobacco farmer, walked into his fields at dawn expecting to check on his crop yield. Instead, he found himself staring at a macabre symbol of death: a miniature coffin, meticulously wrapped in bright blue, yellow, and red kitenge fabric, sitting ominously among the tobacco leaves.

A Dark Ritual Exposed?

The scene described by police investigators is unsettling. The coffin was not buried; it was placed with intent. Beneath the colourful cloth lay a bed of tobacco leaves, and a swarm of flies buzzed violently around the object, suggesting it contained organic matter. "It was not just an object; it felt like a message," Banda reportedly told local authorities, his voice trembling with the shock of the find.

Eastern Province Police Commissioner Robertson Mweemba has confirmed the incident, deploying detectives from Chipata Central Police Station to the scene. But in a region where tradition and law often intersect, the first responders were not the police, but the traditional leadership. The coffin was taken to Chief Chanje’s palace for "verification"—a coded acknowledgement that this crime may have spiritual dimensions.

• The Witchcraft Angle: In rural agricultural communities, such symbols are often linked to "juju" meant to curse the land or steal the harvest's prosperity. The kitenge wrapping suggests a personal, perhaps intimate, connection to the target.
• The Investigation: Police are treating the object as a threat to life and breach of peace, but the community is demanding a spiritual cleansing of the land.

Fear Grips the Farmers

The discovery has cast a pall over the farming community. Neighbours are looking at neighbours with suspicion. Is this a business rivalry turned dark, or a family feud played out through the occult? For Benjamin Banda, his farm is no longer just a source of livelihood; it is a crime scene wrapped in a curse.

As the coffin sits in the evidence room at Chipata Police Station, its contents remain a mystery to the public. But its presence has already achieved its goal: terror. In the quiet fields of Chipangali, something evil has taken root.