A preacher from the Zion Spirit Church in the Chadiza neighborhood was sentenced to a year in prison.
The deceased member had asked the pastor to bury his follower alive, and the minister acknowledged doing so.
Data of Last year, James Sakala was buried alive outside the church grounds by Ryan Phiri, 48, and Vincent Mwale, 25, as the choir and other worshippers sung hymns about the resurrection.
The pair faced a manslaughter allegation, which they readily acknowledged to, when they appeared before Chipata High Court judge Mercy Makubalo.
The now-deceased James Sakala of Chief Maguya in Chipata, who was thought to be a spiritual healer, and his buddy Vincent Mwale, the second accused person (now the imprisoned), joined them at around 11:00 a.m.
Sakala is claimed to have gone outside to grab a hoe from the pastor’s house, which was approximately 50 meters from the church, and dug a ditch outside of it while appearing to be under the influence of some sort of “spirit.”
He then slept in it and commanded that they bury him because he would rise again. As other churchgoers sung hymns about the resurrection, pastor Phiri complied and buried him in the grave-like trench.
