06
Mar
Allexer Namundjembo For decades, leprosy, or Hansen’s disease’s deep-seated stigma, extended beyond death in the Zambezi Region. Those affected by the disease often faced exile, isolation, and indignity even in death. Sibbinda Constituency Councillor Micky Lukaezi recalls the story of a man, a victim of leprosy, who was denied a traditional burial due to cultural stigmas associated with the disease. “He was taken to the forest as it was against cultural beliefs to bury people suffering from the disease in the same way as others. The belief was that those with leprosy could not be buried in the same manner…