By 
In a story that sounds more like a tragic mystery than a courtroom testimony, the Lusaka High Court has heard how a woman accused of manslaughter claimed divine instruction stopped her from taking her dying husband to hospital—or even reporting his death.
Sylvia Mutaba, 51, calm but unwavering, told police investigators she was simply obeying God’s voice when she chose to pray for her husband’s resurrection instead of seeking medical help or burial.
“I did not kill my husband. I only obeyed God’s instruction to pray for him so that he could rise again,” she reportedly told police.
Her husband, George Kalaba, was last seen alive in October 2023.
His skeletal remains were discovered more than a year later, in January 2025, still lying on the couple’s matrimonial bed in Lusaka’s Garden Chilulu area.
Detective Sergeant Simushi Masola from Garden Police Post recounted the haunting details before the court.
“She told me that after her husband died, she continued praying, believing he would come back to life,” he said.
But as the trial unfolded, the defence pounced on gaps in the state’s evidence, grilling Sergeant Masola over the absence of proof linking Mutaba to her husband’s death.
Under cross-examination, the officer admitted that the postmortem report did not establish a cause of death, nor did it suggest any foul play.
There were no scientific tests or eyewitnesses directly connecting Mrs. Mutaba to her husband’s death, Masola conceded.
The court also heard that the last confirmed sighting of Kalaba alive was when a neighbour saw him step outside for fresh air in October 2023.
His disappearance went unnoticed until January 2025, when police broke into the house and found his remains still resting on the bed beside the same woman who insisted he was “only sleeping.”
Pressed further, Sergeant Masola acknowledged there was no evidence Kalaba had ever asked to be taken to hospital, or that his wife refused to do so.
Still, he maintained that if Kalaba had been taken to hospital on time, he might have survived.
“Yes,” he responded firmly. “Doctors would have done their best to sustain life.”
Defence lawyers fired back, questioning whether the detective’s confidence was based on science or assumption.
“Despite not knowing what disease he was suffering from—or whether it was even curable—you’re still satisfied he would have survived if taken to hospital?” they asked.
“It’s a big yes,” Masola replied.
The tense courtroom exchange ended with the detective admitting that while “people can still die in hospital,” he believed medical help would have at least given Kalaba a chance.
Kalaba, according to investigations, fell ill around August 2023 and is believed to have died three months later.
With the prosecution having closed its case, the High Court has set November 11 to decide whether Sylvia Mutaba has a case to answer in connection with her husband’s mysterious death.
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