Love potion affected man drags lover to court

A Bulawayo businessman who accused his former girlfriend for giving him a love potion which he said was made up of the semen extracted from him by the woman after they had sexual encounter yesterday said he will not rest until he gets justice in his case, indicating that he suffered for seven year under the love potion spell.

This was after he lost both the civil case and criminal case against the woman and a faith healer who provided the love potion to her.

Marchal Joseph Stuart had dragged his former lover Platanja Woolf of Hillside initially claiming the sum of $5000 damages resulting from the use of spells, charms and concoctions on him. He also had claimed $850 being money borrowed by Woolf and $240 being the value of clothing she took from his shop in the pretext of advertising and payment of $2 640 which she expended on curative treatment.

The total amount was $8730. But the magistrate Merlyn Mutshina dismissed the case as unproven even after the faith healer who had given the muthi to Woolf confessed in court that she had visited him to ask for muthi to make Joseph love and marry her and abandon his wife.

The magistrate ruled that Joseph in his testimony only told the court that he suffered as a result of the spell and his life became unstable but did not provide adequate proof in that regard only that he had to visit many faith and traditional healers to seek remedy. She also said the court could not manage to quantify Joseph's claims about the money he was claiming from Woolf and ruled that as a result his claim fails.

The faith healer Chatadza Matsaure during the civil matter had told the court that Woolf had visited him saying she had a problem with her boyfriend Joseph and she asked him to assist. He told the court that he then gave Woolf a prescription of writing her name and that of her boyfriend and also to bring stones, body lotion and water.

He said he prayed for these things and advised Woolf to burn the papers with their names into ashes before mixing ashes with the lotion to apply to her body and the water was to be used for cooking and bathing. He said this was to strengthen their love. He confirmed that Woolf wrote Joseph's names on the paper.

After the civil matter failed Joseph filed criminal charges against Woolf and Matsaure on associating or practicing acts of witchcraft.

The two were last month acquitted on the charge on condition the state failed to prove a prima facie case against them.

They were appearing before Bulawayo magistrate Evelyn Mashavakure who found them not guilty.

He court heard that sometime in 2007, Tanja fell in love with Joseph, who is married, and she sought assistance from Matsaure to induce some love potions to enhance their relationship.

Matsaure was accused of providing the charms to Tanja, who went and administered them on Joseph.

Joseph was said to have started behaving abnormally.

He allegedly fell "madly in love" with Tanja as the charm took effect.

In January 2014, Joseph sought help from Matsaure over the strange feelings and behaviour and the faith healer confided in him that he was responsible for the strange behaviour through love charms he had given Tanja.

Joseph made a report to the police, leading to the arrest of the two.

Following his loss on the two court cases he filed, Joseph yesterday said he will not rest until he gets justice on the matter indicating that he was really shocked over how the court could have found the two not guilty even after they admitted providing the concoction which affected his life.

Joseph said the two were acquitted because the state slept on duty and he confronted the authorities to register his concerns yesterday.

"These guys never denied that they did something on me," said Joseph. "One day Woolf visited me at the shop and came behind the counter where she pulled down her dress and underwear and we had sexual intercourse behind the counter and I asked her to go and clean herself but she refused. As from then she could visit me at the shop and home."

He said he believed that Woolf later cleaned herself with the purpose of extracting his semen which she might have allegedly used to mix with the alleged love potion. He said he believe that Woolf put the muti into his food and since then he was no longer himself as he felt immense heat and something mysterious turning his head and lost love for his wife. He said he was only assisted by his friend John Sauramba who took him to the same prophet Matsaure who released him from his spell.

"Matsaure told us that no one could remove the spell he had cast on me only him," said Joseph. "He said what he did was because Woolf had been pestering him otherwise he had told her that the spell was so dangerous. He said he even charged her $200 trying to discourage her but she still came and paid the money. He then removed something like a tissue from my left hip, that is when I felt better."

Joseph said the spell was too much for him as even the time when he went to South Africa and Botswana he would see Woolf. He said each time he saw a car with a coloured woman he will run after it and if he tried to sleep with any woman he would end up calling her Woolf.  

"Now the court discharges the people who have been admitting to casting a spell on me," said Joseph.

"I will not rest and I will use all my resources to fight this case on. I will not allow them to go free it is strange that people who admit to the offence can be acquitted by the courts. I did nothing wrong to them. I am here seeking justice and if the courts cannot assist me what does it mean. I went to the prosecution authorities today and left all the documents which show that the two were admitting that they did that but were acquitted and I was told that all documents will have to be reviewed by the authorities to see what happened."

Joseph said he is engaging lawyers for the appeal on the case because he was really traumatized and nearly died due to the effects of the spell cast on him, by Woolf.