(Courtesy of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa)
On Aug. 24, 2020, two Zambian catholic sisters, Matilda Mulengachonzi, 57, and Akuffor Assumptor, 48, were assaulted by an armed bandit at their St. Barbara Parish convent house in Kataba, Zambia; Itezhi-tezhi District of Monze Diocese. The attack left the Little Servants of Mary Immaculate sisters seriously injured and hospitalized. Assumptor was treated and discharged, while Mulengachonzi succumbed to her injuries on Oct. 25, 2020, after spending more than two months at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka. Her congregation, clergy, and the community commemorated the late sister, describing the attack as "cruel and violent." They prayed for Mulengachonzi, remembering her as a selfless woman religious who served the community as a teacher and treasurer.