A woman arrested on Saturday night for being found trapped in Mount Pleasant CCAP church building in Blantyre is on police bail.

According to Blantyre Police Station spokesperson Peter Mchiza, the 28-year-old suspect, who was charged with breaking into a building with intent to commit a felony therein, was given a police bail while in hospital receiving treatment for injuries she sustained as she tried to get out of the church.

He said: “After discussions with the church leadership, they showed that they were not interested in pursuing the matter in court.”

Mchiza said police were still investigating the motive behind the break in.

Speaking in a separate interview, Mount Pleasant CCAP moderator, the Reverend Alex Maulana, confirmed that the church decided not to pursue the issue further as it was mysterious in nature.

He said the church took it as a spiritual battle as it was not clear how the woman entered the church when all its doors and windows were bolted.

Maulana said the church felt it will be futile to pursue a matter that was spiritual when the laws do not recognise the existence of witchcraft.

He said: “The second reason why we decided not to pursue the matter is that we did not want her to be punished considering that apart from breaking two or three window panes, she did not steal anything.”

The reverend said the church took the incident as a job that God has given them to show love and restore the suspect.

Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital director Dr. Sam Mdolo refused to comment on the condition of the suspect, saying doing so will be going against medical ethics.

Addressing the congregation on the incident on Sunday, Rev. Maulana said the woman told the people that apprehended her that she lives in Sigerege Township in the city.

Other details of the suspect show that she is a mother of a five-year-old and her relatives went to Blantyre Police Station after news of the incident went viral on social media.

The family representatives also met some of the leaders of the church at the police station.

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