Cephas Shava
MWENEZI – Angered by inexplicable deaths and miscarriages in his family, a 50-year-old man quarrelled with his neighbour and called her a witch, demanding that she immediately stop her habit of bringing misfortune into his home, the Mwenezi Magistrates Court heard last week.
Khosa Musengi of Mharadze village under Chief Maranda was convicted on his own plea of guilty for contravening section 99 (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
Magistrate Honest Musiiwa strongly cautioned Musengi against labelling anyone a witch without evidence from registered healers and gave him a wholly suspended eighty months prison sentence.
Asked by Musiiwa why he accused his neighbour of being a witch, Musengi confidently said his neighbour had haunted him with misfortunes for too long.
“It’s now close to 13 years being haunted by the witchcraft of my neighbour. She once came to my home pretending that she wanted to help my wife during delivery and I didn’t know that she wanted to take away a part of the newly born baby’s body for use in her acts.
“I consulted healers and they pointed out that she was the trouble maker. She caused the death of my children and now I only have one child left. I confronted her because right now, I am being affected by her spell,” Musengi told the court.
The State case, as presented by Willard Chasi, was that sometime in June this year, Musengi went to Esnathi Mandiweni’s homestead and started accusing accusing her of being a witch who had caused the death of his children and miscarriages of his wife.
Musengi threatened Mandiweni with death should the deaths and miscarriages in his own family continue. A police report was made leading to the arrest of Musengi.local
