News / National
'Headman's snake' wipes out village herd
08 Sep 2017 at 06:57hrs | Views
JACK the snake!
A headman from Insuza Matabeleland North's Village 19, Cephas Mdlongwa is being accused of owning a snake that has killed villagers' livestock.
The snake reportedly resides in one of his huts that was custom made. However, it has also become a problem for him such that he allegedly looked for witch hunters to help him get rid of it.
"Our livestock is dying because of this snake. Every time we follow its trail we are led to Mdlongwa's place and then it disappears when we get to his homestead," said a villager, Bambanani Ndlovu.
Ndlovu added that there were some strange occurrences in the village such as the death of one child who allegedly drowned in a river but her body was never found. All that blame is attributed to the alleged mysterious snake.
Ndlovu insisted that the village head was responsible.
"What made us sure that the snake belongs to him is that he went to seek assistance on how to get rid of it from witch-hunters that had come all the way from Tsholotsho to have an all-night session at his neighbour's place," he added.
But the village head laughed off the allegations as hate campaign.
"People are lying because they are after my title. I wasn't born here but I came from Filabusi," said Mdlongwa.
He claims to have only attended a cleansing ceremony just like every other villager.
"I didn't ask for help from the witch-hunters but I attended an all-night session just like any other villager," he added.
Mdlongwa said he was surprised the following morning when witch-hunters came to his homestead saying they wanted to find a humongous snake he kept inside a bottle.
"They turned my house upside down looking for the snake but they did not find it until they went to one of my huts which I only use for storing old clothes," said Mdlongwa.
However, they didn't get access to the hut and allegedly cooked up a story.
"I failed to get the keys to the hut they wanted to open which led them to conclude that I was involved in witchcraft," added Mdlongwa.
His wife Oprah Mpofu said instead of accusing her husband they should ask questions about mysterious conduct by other villagers.
"Those are pure lies. These people hate us, why don't they focus on Kheswa who abandoned his homestead, they must ask him why he abandoned it?" said Mpofu.
A headman from Insuza Matabeleland North's Village 19, Cephas Mdlongwa is being accused of owning a snake that has killed villagers' livestock.
The snake reportedly resides in one of his huts that was custom made. However, it has also become a problem for him such that he allegedly looked for witch hunters to help him get rid of it.
"Our livestock is dying because of this snake. Every time we follow its trail we are led to Mdlongwa's place and then it disappears when we get to his homestead," said a villager, Bambanani Ndlovu.
Ndlovu added that there were some strange occurrences in the village such as the death of one child who allegedly drowned in a river but her body was never found. All that blame is attributed to the alleged mysterious snake.
Ndlovu insisted that the village head was responsible.
"What made us sure that the snake belongs to him is that he went to seek assistance on how to get rid of it from witch-hunters that had come all the way from Tsholotsho to have an all-night session at his neighbour's place," he added.
But the village head laughed off the allegations as hate campaign.
He claims to have only attended a cleansing ceremony just like every other villager.
"I didn't ask for help from the witch-hunters but I attended an all-night session just like any other villager," he added.
Mdlongwa said he was surprised the following morning when witch-hunters came to his homestead saying they wanted to find a humongous snake he kept inside a bottle.
"They turned my house upside down looking for the snake but they did not find it until they went to one of my huts which I only use for storing old clothes," said Mdlongwa.
However, they didn't get access to the hut and allegedly cooked up a story.
"I failed to get the keys to the hut they wanted to open which led them to conclude that I was involved in witchcraft," added Mdlongwa.
His wife Oprah Mpofu said instead of accusing her husband they should ask questions about mysterious conduct by other villagers.
"Those are pure lies. These people hate us, why don't they focus on Kheswa who abandoned his homestead, they must ask him why he abandoned it?" said Mpofu.
Source - bmetro
