Men fool ZTV to gain fame

TWO Mberengwa men last week appeared before Zvishavane magistrate Archie Wochiunga charged with criminal nuisance after they allegedly made false witchcraft claims on national television.

Sifelani Dube (27) and Soton Dube from Chief Chingoma area in Mberengwa appeared on ZTV on October 19 this year claiming that they practised witchcraft in contravention of section 46 (2) (v) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

In the news clip, the accused also claimed that they were in possession of a hyena, an owl, a baboon, a snake and cats that they use in their witchcraft business and to recover money from bad debtors.

Prosecutor Stanley Ncube told the court that they confessed that they made the false statements in order to alarm the nation for the sake of attention and possibly to make money from the mystified public.

He said when investigations were done in the wake of their TV appearance, it was proven that the two were schemers who possessed none of the things they claimed to have and that they actually were not wizards.

Wochiunga found them guilty of fraud and interfering with public comfort and peace and remanded them for mental examination pending their sentencing.