Undressed ‘witch’ found wandering

RESIDENTS in the sprawling suburb of Dangamvura were last weekend treated to a macabre real life drama after a woman was found stark naked in the early hours of Saturday in a suspected case of witchcraft.

The woman whose identity could not be established by the time The Weekender went to bed was seen wandering in the suburb's P-Section in her birthday suit in the wee hours of Saturday.

She looked unperturbed by scores of residents who jostled in awe to catch a glimpse of her body.

Agitated residents interviewed said they woke up last Saturday morning and saw the woman walking up and down aimlessly. She could not talk or at least communicate with anyone.

Police in Dangamvura later whisked the woman away.

"I was one of the first people who woke up around 6am to see the woman naked. I called my neighbours and they were equally shocked. She could not say anything. We asked her about her origins, but she remained mum. She was full of confidence and was never bothered by the mob's noise. We were really afraid and we strongly believe she was on a mission. She never looked like a mental patient or someone who has a mental disorder. Something that puzzled us most was that she never responded to any of our questions," said one baffled resident.

Marlone Chinowawa, said: "We threatened to beat her up trying to glean some information from her, but she never entertained us. We had to call the police because her strange appearance left us with more questions than answers. We hope the truth will come to light. Up to now we are still afraid."

Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa, said police were yet to ascertain the woman's identity.

"We are yet to be furnished with finer details. We will come back to you when we get finer information concerning the woman in question. We are also yet to ascertain the real intentions of this young woman. We can, however, not rule out the possibility that she could be a mental patient," he said.

Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association president, George Kandiero, said although witches usually travel naked and at night, the woman could be a mental patient.

"Most of these cases are based on speculation. Witches travel naked at night and this woman in particular was seen naked during the wee hours. She might have been deserted by her colleagues when they were going or coming from an expedition. However, we cannot rule out the fact that she could be a mental patient or a case of drug abuse," said Kandiero.

The incident happened hardly a year after a creepy looking suspected teenage witch was caught in action in the same suburb allegedly trying to remove an 18-year-old's uterus in a suspected case of witchcraft.

The young witch – who identified herself as Janet – ran out of luck when the would-be victim, Joy Marwa of P346B woke up to the shock of her life around 2am to come face to face with the young witch who was allegedly staring in the mirror in her bedroom preparing to "transfer" the uterus to her "elders" in Buhera.

Janet was seen heating seven rand coins on the stove in Joy's kitchen as part of the uterus transfer rituals.

Surprisingly, the main gate, main doors and screen gate at the house were all locked. Janet, upon approached by The Weekender, started groaning and rumbling like an incensed pit-bull, her grumpy voice could be heard from a distance.