Zimbabwe News Online: Traditional healer defeats a witch in broad daylight

Traditional healer defeats a witch in broad daylight
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h metro on 14 July, 2010 02:43:00
 
The witchcraft practices were alleged to be carried out by an unidentified
70-year-old Chegutu woman through her grand-daughter. The grand-daughter was
being used as a ‘devil’s’ hand as it were! The ‘catch’ was made
yesterday in the Dombo area of Epworth at around 3pm. The woman stripped-naked
when her grandmother’s alleged evil spirit (shavi rehuroyi) caught her.
The drama started when the 30 year old woman, Evernice Zvevanjanja, consulted
the healer who identified herself only as Magirls. “She came here asking me to
help her because she was saying that all the money she got from her business
quickly disappears.
“That is when my powers fished out her grandmother’s spirit of witchcraft
that possesses her,” narrated Magirls, who claims to use healing powers
obtained from a mermaid. Evernice began to speak in a different voice and fell
into a trance. “She started to speak in a different voice and Magirls began to
throw snuff at her,” said one eyewitness. When H-Metro arrived at the scene, a
voice claiming to be Evernice’s grandmother was speaking.
She identified herself by name (H-Metro is privy to the name) and she said she
hails from Chegutu. H-Metro asked ‘Her’ what about her motive and through
Evernice’s body; ‘She’ made a startling confession. She said that she eats
human flesh and she was the one who had killed and eaten Evernice’s husband
and two of her children. “I eat my children and I stay in Chegutu at (address
withheld).
“Today I wanted to eat my granddaughter (Evernice)’s daughter but there was
a powerful spirit (presumably Magirls’) that stopped me,” said ‘Her’
voice. ‘The’ voice then said that it was feeling hot and that is when
Evernice stripped naked sending the male spectators into an ecstatic frenzy,
while some were baying for her blood. Others were simply drooling!
Magirls then whisked her away and took her to her consultation room and locked
the door to keep the crowd away. The grandmother’s voice continued to shout
saying that it was craving for human flesh for dinner. In the process Magirls
claimed to be fighting with ‘the grandmother’ as she threw snuff at
Evernice’s body  throwing punches at her. She was pummeled by Magirl’s.
Her assistant was playing mbira, giving her oral support and motivation. H-Metro
interviewed ‘the grandmother’, while elderly women had for some reason
draped Evernice’s body with towels. ‘The grandmother’s’ voice revealed
to H-Metro that she has been a witch for the past decade and she has feasted on
several human bodies of her relatives.
When asked on the taste, she did not reply, instead she made some scary and
eerie noises. She said that she hated her son Newton (Evernice’s father) and
wanted to eat all his children. After a lengthy physical battle which involved
Magirls punching Evernice with strong jabs on her face, Evernice suddenly calmed
down and took a big sigh.
Magirls began to ululate saying that she had defeated ‘grandmother’.
“Ndaribata, ini ndakabva pasi penyanza. “Muroyi anoda kupfuvisa mwana
anozvishandira haunyari (I have defeated her, I came from underwater to save
people from witches),” shouted the visibly angry Magirls.
After ‘Grandmother’s’ ‘defeat’, Evernice began to speak in another
voice which onlookers described as her normal voice. It was a nice and sweet
voice and the sudden voice transformation can probably be matched by Davis
Mugadza switching from Dr Zobha to his normal self. Evernice then put on her
clothes and her step-mother Netty Mazambi hugged her and began to sob. H-Metro
had a chat with Evernice in her ‘normal’ state.
She narrated her ordeal which seemed rather sad. “I came here to seek help
from Magirls and I don’t even know what was happening. “Every time I get
money from my cross border business, the money just disappears without anything
tangible I will have achieved. “That is why I consulted Magirls after a friend
advised me,” she narrated calmly. She said that she lost her hubby three years
ago and they had three children.
She added that five years ago when she used to attend Apostolic Faith Mission
(AFM), a pastor had told her that her grandmother was using her for witchcraft
purposes and they had prayed for her to stop the problem. She said that once she
stopped going to church the problem resurfaced. “I know. I have been told I am
a witch as I am being used by evil forces for such. It is involuntary.
“When I stopped going to church, the problem resurfaced and my granny comes to
me in spirit and uses me for witchcraft purposes,” she confessed. She however
said she has never killed anyone or eaten human flesh-at least not knowingly if
the ‘confession’ by the ‘grandmother’ when she was in a trance was
anything to go by.
When asked whether she felt any pain when Magirls was punching her, she said she
was feeling pain when she regained her consiousness from the trance but she
could not remember anyone punching her. H-Metro talked to her step-mother and
neighbours and they said that Evernice was just a young hardworking woman who
sells various wares in Mozambique.
They said they were shocked by this incident and some were even praying for her.
Magirls also promised to help her get rid of her grandmother’s ‘remote
control’ strength over her. Evernice said that she last saw her grandmother
two years ago and she confronted her about the matter.
The grandmotheris said to have demanded undergarments and blankets. “She was
complaining that she raised my father but he never took good care of her and
that was her problem with my family,” said the distraught Evernice. She did
not say whether she had bought her mother the thongs and blanket she had
requested.