Teenage Tsikamutanda kidnaps villagers

A Hwange teenager led six elderly men in a group that masqueraded as witch hunters, popularly known as Tsikamutandas, in kidnapping and terrorising villagers in Jambezi, Matabeleland North.

The seven; Jabulani Nyoni (19), Bernard Muchelwana (76) Govias Ncube (59), Professor Nyoni Chipegwa (45) Tadius Phindani Ncube (59) Philip Ncube (69) and Mathew Muti (73), pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and unlawful detention when they appeared before Victoria Falls, magistrate Sharon Rosemani.

The teenage Jabulani is also charged separately for indicating wizards and is jointly charged with the other six for kidnapping and unlawful detention.

The group allegedly kidnapped those they accused of being witches and would take them to a shrine where they claimed they would exorcise evil spirits that made the witches or wizards.

The court heard the gang would shave the villagers' hair, cut them with razor blades and stick needles that were allegedly unsterilized into their arms, during the purported cleansing rituals.

They would then demand livestock as payment.

The seven were remanded out of custody to April 30 on $50 bail each. The prosecutor said on 21 November last year, Jabulani went to Jonas Mudenda (75)'s homestead and accused him of being a wizard that had caused the deaths of several people in his village.

Jabulani allegedly forced Mudenda and his wife to surrender a shirt and underwear, which they said they would use to remove evils spirits. He then forcibly shaved Mudenda and cut his forehead with a razor blade, before putting herbs to the cuts, before demanding a goat as payment.

He allegedly refused to accept a goat saying it was too small for the big job he had done and proceeded to grab two goats and a chicken.

In December last year, Jabulani allegedly sent his gang to Mathias Sikanguwe's homestead in Zhulandangariro Village and they kidnapped the villager and dragged him to their leader's shrine The teenager told Sikanguwe he was being used by witches to bewitch people at night, adding there was need for him to be cleansed. A report was made to the police leading to the gang's arrest.