Sangoma milks gold miner dry

A Mutasa man has accused a traditional healer of allegedly swindling him out of US$2 400 through a series of payments for rituals supposedly intended to cleanse his gold claim and homestead of evil spirits.

The dispute was heard at Chief Mutasa's community court last Saturday, where Ngonidzashe Muberekwa claimed that a traditional healer identified only as Sekuru Shumba repeatedly demanded money for cleansing rituals that he said were never completed.

Shumba denied the allegations, maintaining that Muberekwa had initially approached him seeking supernatural assistance to acquire wealth.

The dispute reportedly began following the death of an artisanal miner at a gold claim where Muberekwa and his colleagues were operating.

"We approached the traditional healer because we wanted to improve our fortunes at the gold claim, but we also wanted the area cleansed after one of our colleagues died under mysterious circumstances," Muberekwa said.

He claimed the miner had returned from a bar at around 3am appearing unwell before his condition deteriorated rapidly and he died.

According to Muberekwa, fellow miners contributed towards funeral expenses, but the deceased's relatives prevented them from purchasing a coffin.

"We later approached the healer and paid him US$300 to conduct cleansing rituals at the mine. He told us that our colleague had died as a sacrifice and that some people were benefiting from his death. He also claimed that the spirit of the deceased was restless because we had failed to mourn him properly and did not buy him a coffin," he said.

Muberekwa alleged that the initial payment was followed by a series of further demands.

"Each time he came, there was a new spiritual problem that required money. We believed he was helping us, so we kept paying. He later claimed there were goblins at the mine and at my home. He also said there were snakes and marine spirits tormenting my family. Every visit came with another problem and another payment," he said.

Muberekwa said he eventually became convinced that he had been deceived.

"I paid him about US$2 400 in total, but nothing changed. Every time he wanted money, he came up with another story about goblins, snakes or spirits troubling me," he said.

However, Shumba rejected the allegations and gave a different account of how the dispute began.

"When Muberekwa first came to my shrine, he wanted wealth-enhancing charms. I told him that I do not provide such services. He then changed his story and requested that I cleanse the gold claim. I asked him to return with the rest of his syndicate members and they came back the following day. I only charged them US$30 at the time," he said.

Shumba said the miners had not initially disclosed the death of their colleague and that he only learnt about it after visiting the claim.

"They never told me that one of their colleagues had died or that they suspected he had been sacrificed. I only learnt about this when I visited the mine to conduct the cleansing ceremony," he said.

He said that after learning about the circumstances surrounding the death, he advised the group to undertake a number of traditional rituals, including purchasing wine.

Shumba also disputed Muberekwa's account of a snake allegedly discovered during the cleansing process.

"He is accusing me of bringing a snake to his home, yet he is the one who told me about it. I found the snake in his wardrobe. I did not destroy it because I was informed that it was believed to be a goblin consuming his wealth. I carried out the work he requested, but now he claims I duped him," he said.

Shumba further alleged that the relationship between the two men deteriorated after he refused to provide charms that would supposedly generate money.

"The real disagreement began when he asked whether I could give him charms that would make money appear in his house. He wanted wealth without working for it, but I told him that I could not provide such a thing. After I refused, he approached my former wife and began making allegations against me," he said.

Shumba also disputed Muberekwa's claim that he had received US$2 400 from him.

After hearing submissions from both parties, Chief Mutasa postponed the matter to allow additional witnesses to testify before making a ruling.