Black bird flies away with toddler

THE family of a baby who was picked by a relatively small bird which flew away with him for about 400 metres has hired a witch-hunter (tsikamutanda) to perform a cleansing ceremony at the homestead and the entire village in Gokwe. The villagers gave the tsikamutanda 13 beasts.

In a bizarre incident that left Makore villagers under Chief Chireya dumbfounded, a mysterious black bird allegedly picked an 18-month-old toddler before flying away with him.

The incident, which occurred two weeks ago and was first reported by Kwayedza, happened at around 2pm when the bird invaded Cosmas Kuyana-Mumvuriwegomo and Barbra Nzou's homestead.

Ms Nzou and a neighbour, Mrs Emily Majiya, who witnessed the incident, watched helplessly as the toddler was dangling mid-air under the grip of the bird.

The toddler's father said his son was sleeping in the bedroom hut alone when he was visited by the mysterious bird which was very dark in colour.

Mr Kuyana-Mumvuriwegomo said his heart skipped a beat but he soon realised that if he just stood there, his son was going to be taken away.

"A mysterious bird just came here while we were outside and Takudzwa was sleeping in the bedroom hut. It lifted his clothes and dumped them on top of the hut," he said.

"The bird then picked him from where he was sleeping in the hut and attempted to fly away with him. It only managed a distance of about 400 metres before dropping him to the ground as we were chasing and throwing stones at it."

Mr Kuyana-Mumvuriwegomo said the baby sustained a bruised cheek from the incident.

"We are still in shock and we are consulting prophets and traditional healers," he said.

Mr Kuyana-Mumvuriwegomo said this was not the first time that horrible things had happened to his family.

"My wife first turned blind soon after giving birth. When she tried to breastfeed blood would come out of her breasts. I have tried all possible solutions that include visiting prophets and engaging traditional healers but our efforts are in vain," said a seemingly devastated Mr Kuyana- Mumvuriwegomo.

Ms Esnat Kuyana, the toddler's grandmother, said the drama unfolded while they were outside.

"I was present when it happened. The bird just came from nowhere. We only heard the boy's mother screaming saying her baby is gone and that is when we started pursuing it before it threw him to the ground," she said.

A relative, Mr Tinashe Makore, said the bird returned and started flying around while making a lot of noise before eventually vanishing into thin air.

Village head Mr Graham Makore also confirmed the incident.

"The incident happened in my area where a mysterious bird is said to have picked a baby from his parents' hut and attempted to fly away with him before the parents with the help of other villagers rescued the child," he said.

Mr Makore said they were consulting traditional healers in order to get to the bottom of the matter as it had never happened before.

Gokwe North district administrator Mr Fortune Mupungu also confirmed receiving reports on the matter.

"I received reports about an incident involving an unidentified bird that picked a child from the parents' hut and attempted to flee before it was chased by villagers and the headman is handling the matter," said Mr Mupungu.

Gokwe-Nembudziya Member of Parliament, Justice Mayor Wadyajena who is also from the same village said it was not the first time that strange things had happened in the village.

"That is where I come from. Strange things happen time and again," he said.

A Gweru pastor, Pastor Richard Chiwara said the bird was just an image which the people saw but instead they were evil spirits.

"What happened is demonic. Demons come in different forms and this one came in the form of a bird. These are evil spirits and the family must seek divine intervention. A traditional healer or tsikamutanda cannot cast them away but the family members need deliverance and to seek a personal relationship with God and the demons will shun them," he said.