Tsikamutanda kills two over lobola

A TSIKAMUTANDA grisly murdered his lover's brother and mother after being duped in love.

Lovemore Majaradha, 42, who is polygamist and serving a life sentence at Chikurubi Maximum Prison, said he felt fleeced after losing goats and beasts as bait for the in-laws so as to win love of their 'daughter'.

Majaradha, who had wanted the girl to be his third wife, exclusively told H-Metro that he had used charms to dupe unsuspecting villagers of their cattle and goats during his cleansing ceremonies which made him powerful in terms of wealth.

"I started off as a self-styled prophet and joined the group of Tsikamutandas in early 2000s and was arrested in 2002 and convicted of two cases of murder," said Majaradha.

"I am one of the first people to move around villages on witch-hunting missions charging beasts to conduct the rituals.

"I killed my (to be) mother-in-law and my brother-in-law by hacking their heads with a machete when I learnt that my wife-to-be had been given for marriage to another older man in the community.

"Shamwari yemusikana uyu ndiyo yakauya kwandiri akandisoropodza achiti unozviti tsikamutanda asi usingaone pamweya kuti musikana wako akazvarirwa murume sei.

"It touched me and I took my time to investigate and discovered that it was true and became angry with my in-laws since they were benefiting from proceeds I got in cleansing ceremonies.

"I had many cattle and goats I got from villagers during the ceremonies so it was not hard for me to give my lover's relatives cattle or goats to slaughter.

"After confronting my mother-in-law, she confirmed that she was benefiting both from me and the old man waakazvarira musikana wangu and I killed her during the night.

"I went on to look for my brother-in-law and found him at a shopping centre and grabbed him to where his mother was and I killed him and took their heads in sack and showed my lover.

"I felt sorry for my lover since she was young and she was not happy to be given in marriage to an older man named Moyo," said Majaradha.

Majaradha blames himself for using charms to get rich quickly which led him to be jailed.

"I wish I could meet my friends who are operating as tsikamutandas and warn them over making villagers poor by taking their wealth because God is punishing me for that.

"The cleansing ceremonies were real and I was introduced to it by a South African man and is the one who had more powers," said Majaradha.

"He gave us a mirror and a stick we call mutanda that helped us hunt those who were practicing witchcraft and expose them.

"We would sleep in bushes conducting rituals using charms to gather courage and have more evil powers to conduct the cleansing ceremonies and I want to believe those were the charms that led me to kill people.

"If you want to be successful in life and live peacefully you have to work and not steal from innocent people or involve yourself in charms.

"I regret and today I am in jail paying for all the evil actions I did out there and I would like to take this opportunity to warn my fellow tsikamutandas there that crime does not pay.

"Handaishanda asi kutuma chete ndotora mombe, mbudzi nehwai dzevanhu ndoparadza uye kuda vakadzi vakawanda.

"Hazvishamisire kuita many girlfriends or having more money without discovering Christ Jesus. I was haunted by doing evil and killing villagers economically," said Majaradha.