Suicidal lawyer depressed because of maltreatment – Sister 

SISTER of suicidal lawyer Namwene Phiri, Esther drowned in a sea of grief as she narrated how the legal practitioner attempted to commit suicide during her upbringing owing to the abuse she suffered at the hands of their maternal aunt.

 

Esther who is Namwene’s defense witness told the Lusaka High Court that her sister has been battling depression as a result of the emotional, verbal and physical abuse which she was subjected to at a tender age.

 

Namwene an in-house counsel at Food Reserve Agency on February 15,2022 allegedly murdered her son Ayden Sipalo by administering a pesticide (doom) to him and later consumed the same in attempt to commit suicide.

 

Last year, judge Dorcas Malama ordered for the re-examination of her mental state owing to her recurrent suicidal ideation.

 

The psychiatrist established that Namwene could not make a defence as she has excessive depression and borderline personality disorder.

 

Owing to the psychiatric evaluation the Court proceeded to hear evidence against the lawyer under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

 

Owing to the said disorder the accused could not open up and give her side of the story when she was found wanting, but instead requested her sister and best friend to be her defence witnesses and help her wade through the deep waters.

 

In her testimony Esther narrated that following the death of their parents they were taken in by their late mother’s brother who was appointed as an administrator but his wife would maltreat Namwene who was three then.

 

“I was 13 at the time and I was sent to a boarding school most of her childhood she was being abused by my aunt, which I witnessed most of the time when I was home for holidays,” she said.

 

She recounted that in 2003 when Namwene was 12 her uncle had visited her in college at Evelyn Hone and informed that that the accused fled from home and sought refuge on the streets and he could not find her.

 

“About two weeks later my sister came to look for me at Evelyn Hone….she managed to locate me, she had sores on the body and she explained to me that she was staying on the streets all along and didn’t want to go back home because of the mistreatment,” she said amid sobs.

 

“I kept her illegally in my room for a week whilst I was pleading with her to go back home. My uncle came to try to convince her to go back home and she left.”

 

Esther said in 2004 the abuse continued prompting her to seek help from Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and requested that she be placed in a foster home.

 

She said the social workers inquired from her aunt about Namwene’s welfare but she instead accused her of being naughty and didn’t do her chores hence the reason she would flog her.

 

Esther recounted that despite being counselled by social workers from YWCA, the maltreatment persisted and towards the end of the year Namwene attempted suicide by overdosing herself on pain killers and she was rushed to UTH were she was admitted and counselled.

 

Esther told Judge Malama that prior to that incident, her sister sent her a message saying she was involved in a road accident.

 

“On February 15, around lunch hour, I got a phone call from my sister, I answered but I couldn’t hear what she was trying to say. I asked her if she was ok but all I could hear were sounds of her vomiting. I left home and rushed to her place because I got worried I called her baby daddy Nawa Sipalo and asked him if he was with her and he told me he was equally driving to her place,” said.

 

“A few minutes later he called back to inform me that he was rushing Namweene and her son to the hospital and that I should meet him at Hill Top Hospital. The doctors told me she was unconscious and they were attending to her and that we had lost Ayden.”

 

She said whilst at the hospital there was clamor from friends of the child’s father who accused Namwene of killing her son by administering poison to him.

 

“ Nawa’s friends l walked in with the police from Ibex police station. The police told me they had received a report that my sister had killed her son and they needed to question her. I asked them why they would think she would kill her son and they said they had evidence as she had written a letter were she stated she was going to take her life and that of her son,”

 

Esther told the court that she conferred with her sister who disclosed that the reason she attempted to commit suicide was that her son had drowned in a bath tub and she tried to resuscitate him but he couldn’t gain consciousness.

 

“She said she decided to take doom which she had mixed with domestos to end her life. She (Namwene) felt she had no purpose to continue living because her son whom she was living for had died,” Esther said.

 

She explained that Namwene indicated that she drafted the suicide note on February 14 when she was depressed and she would always write when she was feeling low.

 

“I told the officers that my sister had told me that the baby had drowned but they refused. Another officer Maureen told me that she had a conversation with Namwene who told her that the baby drowned and she reported to offer Sindhowe,” Esther claimed.

 

She said Namwene was transferred to Levy Mwanawasa hospital for a poison treatment before she was admitted to Chainama Hills Psychiatric hospital awaiting to be charged.

 

During cross examination by state advocate Charity Bauleni Esther said other relatives declined to nature her sister on reasons that their uncle was the one tasked with the responsibility to take care of her as he was the one managing their parents’ estate.

 

And Namwene’s best friend Auxilia lifalalo said whilst they were studying law at UNZA, the former was temperamental.

 

The suicidal lawyer will be back in court on July 2, 2023 for judgement.

 

By Mwaka Ndawa

 

Kalemba April 22, 2023.