Traditional healers plead with govt, chiefs for land

Prominent Glendale-based traditional healer, Sekuru Nyangatayani (born Peter Chingudzi) has this Friday appealed for a commercial farm from the government and local chiefs, claiming that traditional healers have the capacity to contribute towards country's food security.

Briefing the media during during a cultural a sensitisation and stakeholders relations awareness campaign, Sekuru Nyangatayani claimed that given an opportunity and access to owning commercial farms, his constituency produce to excellent levels since they have necessary skills, knowledge and experience.

"Besides being excellent in indigenous cultural and traditional knowledge systems, we have also necessary requisite for farming. We are also eager to contribute towards our country in becoming food secure," Nyangatayani said.

"We work well with government of the day and as traditional healers constituency, we extent our request for farms to prove that we have not only mastered in IKS or rituals, but in agricultural production to aid national food security," Nyangatayani added.

Meanwhile, another traditional healer, Sekuru Chikwambo (born Charles Chapuka) has echoed same sentiments appealing that several traditional healers have a dream to own a farm and feed the nation sufficiently.

"We have some resources and capacity to buy implements as long as we do not own farms, its a futility. All our dreams towards food security as traditional healers are shuttered. We are quite sure that positive results will come if we continue engaging with chiefs and other responsible government officials," Chikwambo said.

"We will continue praying that the government and chiefs will heed our request with leniency. We are organizing ourselves to make sure that traditional healers continue to benefit from the country's empowerment initiatives," Chikwambo added.