In a disturbing case, a family Chipinge – South-East of Zimbabwe, claims they are being tormented by two ancestral spirits (izipoki) following the death of their father in 2019.
Their father, it is alleged, had acquired money-making traditional charms locally known as tokoloshes (goblins) but failed to pay the required fee to the traditional healer before his death.
This has resulted in strange supernatural occurrences at their home, including unexplained fires and a family member suffering from mental illness.
Desperate for a solution, the family is divided on whether to seek help from a medical doctor or traditional healers.
Sekuru Zondai Mtetwa reports that he has already brought the matter before Chief Musikavanhu's traditional court. He explains that his father was known for keeping goblins and was a star at practicing witchcraft.
“After his death, his belongings were given to someone else, which is why we need help. We want to know which traditional healer we should consult to pay the outstanding debt and resolve this,” he explains.
“Initially, a traditional healer told us to go to a cleansing ceremony. They informed us that the strange occurrences in our family were caused by our deceased father's failure to pay the healer who provided him with the charms. There's an inexplicable fire that appears in the house at night but disappears when we try to investigate. This has been happening for months, and it terrified us. We didn't know where to turn until we sought help from Chief Musikavanhu. It stopped briefly after visiting the sangoma as instructed by the Chief, but we still fear the fire might return,” he says.
Adding to their distress, Sekuru Mtetwa reveals that his granddaughter suffered a mental breakdown.
“My granddaughter started experiencing mental health issues during her final year at a teachers' college, shortly after getting married. I was called to fetch her from school because she was losing her mind. When we consulted traditional healers, they said all these problems were caused by my deceased father. This healer claimed that my father and his sister killed her husband,” he states.
Sekuru Mtetwa says they were forced to return property to their son-in-law to retrieve their granddaughter.
He adds that one of his brothers, Donald, refused to participate in the traditional remedies suggested by the healer. Donald also repeatedly ignored summonses to appear before Chief Musikavanhu's court.
“I pleaded with Chief Musikavanhu to compel him to join us in resolving this issue, but he refused to come. He only went to the district court once and doesn't want to cooperate with us, even when told to consult the traditional healer,” he says.
Sekuru Mtetwa explains that Donald lives in Harare and rejects traditional practices, citing incompatibility with his religious beliefs. Donald reportedly sent a message to Chief Musikavanhu's court via phone, rejecting the proceedings and reporting the matter to Harare police.
Donald acted on his threat by reporting Sekuru Mtetwa to the police, accusing him of witchcraft. This led to Sekuru Mtetwa's arrest by Hobhouse police in Mutare, where he spent the night in custody.
When contacted for comment, Donald denied any knowledge of the matter.
“I know nothing about this. I have never heard of a family case in the chief's court,” he stated.
