By KASONDE KASONDE –
THE story of a man of Senanga, who was believed to have died last year and ‘resurrected’ this year, has taken a new twist, with a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) test showing a mismatch.
Mufalali Mufalali, 42, shocked Senanga residents in February this year after he was spotted by his family, months after he had been buried.
Western Province Police chief Charles Lungu said the DNA analysis from the biological parents and that of Mr Mufalali did not match, but the DNA from the remains of the body that was exhumed matched that of his parents.
Mr Mufalali died on October 29, 2015 and was put to rest on November 1, 2015, but early this year on February 7, he resurfaced and was positively identified by his wife and his 14-year-old daughter.
Police exhumed the body that was buried and was positively identified by hospital staff to be the one that was attended to at the hospital, where he was treated before his demise.
Mr Mufalali claimed to have been working at his father’s farm during the time of his alleged disappearance and had lost his way home.
After the body was exhumed, police suspected foul play as the body was found in an extremely dry  state, despite being buried for only three months.
A DNA test was then undertaken on both Mr Mufalali and the corpse.
“I can confirm that the DNA paternal analysis test samples that were taken from the man who claimed to be Mufalali Mufalali and his parents had come out negative or did not match, but the samples from the exhumed body did,” Mr Lungu said.
Mr Lungu said the DNA from the remains of the man that was buried and the man that resurfaced also did not match, which medically proved that they were not the same person.
“Mufalali’s wife clearly identified the scars on his body as the ones that were as a result of his suffering from herpes zoster that he suffered before he died and the other that he sustained after she hit him with a big stone that left him unconscious after a marital disagreement earlier in their marriage,” Mr Lungu said.
Mr Lungu said police took samples from Mufalali’s biological father Kabalube Mufalali and mother Nosiba Mwiya, both aged 75, for DNA paternity tests to determine whether the man who had resurfaced was truly their son.
Mr Lungu said police were now interviewing Mr Mufalali to try and establish his true identity and why he was identical to the deceased, but he had thus far given the same statement.