Maid confesses to witchcraft

A self-confessed witch managed to outfox, 'immobilise' tools of trade, inflict some damage and pain on two sangomas - husband and wife as well as their children.

Joice Nzara (41), from Mhakwe in Biriri, Chimanimani, was hired as a domestic worker by a Dangamvura couple, Never Pfidze and his wife, both well known traditional healers, but succeeded in unleashing her witchcraft acts for quite some time undetected. And by the time the Pfidzes put their 'powers' together and discovered the tormentor right inside their home, damage and pain had been done for than two months.

Joice last week confessed to possessing two goblins whose names are Monica and Sophia, that she used to bewitch her employer's family and feeding the family with human feaces while she gave her goblins sadza and tea.

"When I arrived here, I came with my two female goblins (Monica and Sophia) hidden in my bag. My paternal grandmother gave me the goblins when I was about two years old and she also made tattoo marks (nyora) on my body to initiate me into witchcraft. My grandmother later killed her daughter-in-law using witchcraft and her avenging spirit in turn killed her. Now my grandmother's spirit possesses me and sends me to do all sorts of evil things. Even the goblins are now terrorising me, making me do things that I'm ashamed of. At times I just find myself naked and outside at night," revealed Joice.

She also said upon sensing danger, the goblins moved back to Chimanimani before the Pfidzes came to realise what had hit them.

"The goblins asked me to take them back home in Chimanimani and I took them there at night two days ago. I flew in a weaving basket!" claimed Joice 'the pilot'.

"I practiced all sorts of witchcraft on this family. I touched the father's private parts and made him weak in bed. I also wanted his wife to die while giving birth, but she survived, so I caused her Caesarean operation not to heal. I also took hair from her head and made it not grow anymore. I just envied her hair and so I took it," she said.

Joice also confessed that she unleashed a lot of harm and pain amongst the family's children.

"I put a spell on the eldest child so that he would just wander aimlessly and have problems with his father. For the other child, I wanted her to die in her sleep, but I failed. I also wanted the other girl to have head woulds and I also made tattoo marks on her body to initiate her into witchcraft. As for the youngest child (4 years old), I have him a piece of bread so that he would never want to drink tea and bread again and I would also take him with me for my escapades. I tried to kill him but I failed," narrated Joice.

The woman also revealed that she bewitched the baby to make her blind.

"I put chilli and methylated spirit into the baby's eyes so that she would become blind. I also cast Chengetai's avenging spirit in this house so that she would stop haunting me and I put a spell so that my employer's work (traditional heading) would fail. Since my arrival, people stopped coming here for help. My grandmother is the one who was instructing me to do all these things," claimed Joice.

All the family members confirmed the misfortune that befell them and by the time of going to press, the baby was yet to get her sight back as Joice had said her sight would be restored after five days.

Joice also explained how she would feed the goblins.

"They also drank tea, at times when I was cooking, the tea would suddenly spill on the ground. They never ashed for blood, but sadza only. I would then feed this family with human waste," she said.

When asked why as traditional healers, Never and his wife failed to 'sniff' out Joice's evilness, Never said they were constantly travelling to different places in the country, helping people and it was when they came back home and settled that they noticed the evil that was pervading in their home. Rejoice moved around the room claiming to be removing the charms she had put on each member of the family and promised that the baby's sight would be restored.

Rejoice was eventually dismissed from the Pfidze home and was warned that if ever anything bad again happens she would be taken to task.