Tsikamutandas and the tragedy of Binga villagers

A YOUNG man barely 20 draped in a white garment with a red lining scampers about in a circle like manner while chanting unintelligibly and convulsively in a frenzy state.

He draws a box on the ground with a stick which he terms his consulting room before instructing villagers who have congregated at the local village head's homestead where the cleansing ceremony of all those alleged to be possessing extra terrestrial powers or objects for purposes of witchcraft will be uncovered to form a queue.

A little while later he takes a handful of villagers to their homesteads with the crowd which has swelled in number curiously following behind. He disappears into a hut leaving the owner outside. A few seconds later a crashing and screaming sound is heard from the hut. The wooden door to the mud hut is flung open with so much force that its integrity on its hinges is tested as the young man dashes outside.

He runs frantically around the compound as if chasing something invisible before throwing himself to the ground like someone catching an object. What follows next can be likened to a fierce epic fight between the visible and invisible characterised by punching and speaking in "tongues". After a while with sweat flowing in streams from his face there is calm once again, a sign that the "goblin" has been subdued. In haste the curious villagers stampede towards the "prophet" who sits panting while holding a strange looking object in his hands.

He tells the curious gathering that the "goblin" which is composed of a small kudu horn wrapped around with a red string and a needle stuck in the gaping hole was the reason for the mysterious deaths that had bedevilled the family. He goes on to burn the "goblin" in front of the amazed villagers before conducting the final cleansing ceremony that involves planting an unknown object in the middle of the homestead and front gate. After assuring the family that no harm will ever befall them because of the "protection" he has planted around the homestead he demands a beast as a fee for his service.

This is just but a little insight into the world of the "tsikamutandas" or "prophets" as they are popularly known in Binga where they have taken the colossal fight against witchcraft to higher levels through their somewhat controversial methods of sniffing out witches and wizards or victims of such from the communities. These young witch-hunters hailing from Gokwe with some as young as 19 years old have taken Binga by storm over the past years leaving behind a wave of awe in the superstitious communities of the Matabeleland North district.

Gwangwaliba Village head in Binga's Lusulu area, Fidias Munsaka explains how the phenomenon has shaped villagers' understanding of supernatural realms and helped rid his area of witchcraft that had caused untold calamities.

"Ever since the rise of these tsikamutandas they have not only brought fear in communities but also unravelled mysteries surrounding witchcraft that we never understood. We have had mysterious deaths, illnesses and misfortunes all suspected to be the work of black magic hence the emergence of the witch-hunters in my area is a welcome move meant to rid all evil practice," said Munsaka.

However, the tsikamutandas are not without controversy as they have been accused by villagers in some areas of fabrication, deceit, sowing seeds of hatred and causing calamities to befall innocent people. Infact, chiefs and Government officials have said their actions are illegal. In 2014 a "prophet" who called himself Ngwenya from Sikomena village in Nakapande area under Chief Pashu caused a stir when he reportedly told women in a village he had visited to conduct a ritual ceremony that he could remove charms planted by their enemies in their bodies.

However, it was his method of exorcism that shocked villagers out of their wits that involved inserting his hand into their private parts in order to remove the charms. It is alleged that some "brave" ones underwent the ritual after being threatened with intense torment from the charms to the extent of losing their husbands.

"I don't believe in any of these prophets as they come to exploit innocent people and plant seeds of division and hatred in families. I recall that at one point one man came here and told us that our women were not ours alone as they had charms inserted into their bodies without their knowledge. Our village head refused to listen to our calls to turn away the prophet after being sweet talked but soon realised his blunder when Ngwenya declared that he would have to remove the charms by inserting his hand into the women's private parts," said Mr Mathias Mwinde.

Amazingly instead of the stunt sealing the prophet's demise, his popularity ratings increased leading to him abandoning his church and opening his own Zion sect. Today he boasts of having opened several branches of his church in places like Lubimbi, Nakapande, Gwatagwata, Chibila and Siandindi.

However, of late the tsikamutanda movement has begun to meet mounting resistance in a district which is still entrenched in traditional and cultural beliefs. Slowly villagers are waking up to the fact that they are being ripped off of their livestock and crops as a result of the "prophets of doom".

One self-proclaimed witch-hunter from Gokwe was almost torn to pieces after he attempted to hoodwink villagers in Muchesu using the same trick he had employed in an area 50km away. It so happened that a man who had been paid through beer by the prophet to extort some sensitive information on his neighbour's family members known only by the villagers sold him out after the witch-hunter failed to meet the imbiber's demands. Unfortunately for the 23-year-old witch-hunter he was apprehended before he could fleece the fear stricken rural communities in Binga.

"We have lost a lot of livestock at the hands of these thieves who rob poor and vulnerable communities of their only source of livelihood. We have learnt how they deceive people by gathering information of peculiar families mostly at drinking places from unsuspecting imbibers whom they buy lots of beer for," said a headman from Chibila who is also a victim of the tsikamutandas' crusades.

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Matabeleland North Ambassador Cain Mathema condemned the witch-hunters describing them as thieves and peace destroyers arguing that they were supposed to be banned as they caused untold misery to rural communities, particularly the elderly.

"These so-called witch-hunters should be banned. They are thieves who cause untold misery to communities, specifically targeting elderly people who they accuse of witchcraft because of their old age. What they are doing is wrong. They cause divisions at family and community levels because of their lies," said Minister Mathema, a renowned author of various cultural books.

Of late there has been a rise of prosecution cases of some witch-hunters for various offences ranging from extortion to assault with the latest being of a 20-year-old prophet Jabulani Nyoni who terrorised villagers in Jambezi and Lubangwe in Hwange District by forcing them to his cleansing ceremonies.

He was arrested after he inserted needles into the spines of former councillor for Mununa ward, Edson Muleya who is living with disabilities and his 74-year-old mother, Jessie Chuma as a way of exorcising evil spirits that he claimed they possessed.

The two were hospitalised.

He was subsequently charged with kidnapping, extortion and assault in a saga that threatened to suck in six village heads from Matesti and Lubangwe who allegedly took part in the kidnapping and forced cleansing ceremonies. As the debate on whether the tsikamutandas are God sent or of the devil rages on, their impact is being felt in the rural communities where they leave a trail of wars.