Spiritually healed chief warns against tsikamutandas

BINGA traditional leader Acting Chief Charles Sindeki from Mansenya area, who was grateful to be back on his feet after a lengthy wound-healing journey thanks to Bulawayo cleric Madzibaba Emmanuel Mutumwa, has castigated activities of witch-hunters popularly known as tsikamutandas who are fleecing villagers of their livestock and money.

Chief Sindeki, who for more than a year struggled with a "cancer-eaten" leg, said he was healed and rescued from being extorted by the notorious tsikamutandas when he met Madzibaba Mutumwa, leader of the Johanne Masowe weChishanu Apostolic sect in Bulawayo who prayed for him.

Giving a testimony while displaying gory pictures of his "cancer-eaten leg", Chief Sindeki said unlike other prophets and tsikamutandas who demanded three head of cattle to have him healed, Madzibaba Mutumwa prayed for him for free.

Chief Sindeki said the tsikamutandas reportedly came to his house and claimed he needed exorcism as there were troublesome spirits at his house that were causing the wound on his leg not to heal.

"I want to thank Madzibaba Mutumwa for his prayers which led to the miraculous healing of my leg. I was healed after a long struggle. The healing was surely a rescue from some bogus prophets and witch-hunters who were pestering me so that they can fleece me of my livestock under the pretext of healing.

"These self-styled witch-hunters claim that they have the power to weed out troublesome witches after which they make them pay in livestock mainly cattle and goats. They also hold dubious cleansing ceremonies which they force villagers to attend and claim to be removing goblins and snakes. They then demand cash or livestock as payment from those people. These are criminals who should be reported to the police," he charged.

He said some of them were also fuelling ritual murders in the country.

The tsikamutandas usually act in collusion with traditional leaders, who then force villagers to attend their ritual cleansing ceremonies.

Madzibaba Mutumwa, who is on record for claiming that he can heal many illnesses and help people get jobs, promotions and fix broken marriages, said true prophets should not be paid to heal.

He argued that to pay for healing was not Biblical.

"Divine healing is the supernatural power of God to bring health to the human flesh. To find healing and to be recognised should never cost an arm and a leg in God's name.

"When I healed Chief Sindeki he told me that he had consulted a lot of prophets and tsikamutandas who demanded three head of cattle or money equivalent to those three beasts so that he could be healed. I told him healing and anything else that comes from God requires no money.

"The power to heal is a gift from God and prophets should not charge for their services, but it is up to the one healed or satisfied to give a gift or a token of appreciation out of his or her heart. That is if that person has that gift," said Madzibaba Mutumwa.