Witches 'sniffed out'

2003-07-23 13:02

Jabu Mhlabane

White River - A criminal witchcraft trial in Mpumalanga has exposed a local tribal authority, which is government-funded, for organising witch sniffing ceremonies.

An induna at the tribal authority has admitted that the authority charges often illiterate villagers thousands of rands for the banned ceremonies.

It is illegal in South Africa to accuse anyone of being a witch, let alone raise money to sniff out witches, because the ceremonies often end in innocent people being driven from their homes or even killed.

The victim in the case, initiation school owner David Mazibuko, 52, says two men accused him of using witchcraft to kill their mother and reported him to the Masoyi tribal authority near White River in December last year.

"They came to my home and fired a shot in the air. I told them I'm not a witch, but a healer. I did not kill their mother," he testified in Nelspruit regional court earlier this month.

He said a meeting was called at the tribal authority and that his family and the brothers' family were told to pay R3 500 each to hire a diviner to determine if Mazibuko was a witch or not.

He said the tribal authority kept R2 000, while R3 000 was paid to the diviner.

The remaining R2 000 was paid to the brothers' family and the matter was considered closed, but the brothers allegedly kept returning to Mazibuko's house, firing shots in the air and calling him a witch.

"I'm not the only person in my community who's been pointed out as a witch," said Mazibuko. "Others have also been accused of witchcraft when they were innocent, proving that the diviner doesn't know what he's doing."

Mazibuko reported the shootings to police and the brothers were arrested.

The brothers, Lungile Grandy 32, and his 16-year-old younger brother were arrested.

They pleaded not guilty on charges of imputing witchcraft, saying they never asked for a diviner to intervene nor did they shoot at Mazibuko's house.

Lungile was found guilty for imputing witchcraft and sentenced to two years in jail, which were suspended for five years on condition he not be found guilty on the same charges in that time.

His younger brother was cautioned and discharged.

Masoyi headman Solomon Sanderson admitted after the case that the tribal authority charges to arrange witch sniffing ceremonies, but said high fees were levied to discourage residents from taking this route.

The money, he said, was used to improve services in the small village.

Sanderson also stressed that anyone applying for witch sniffing ceremonies were first advised against it.

"But in this case, both Mazibuko and the Grandy agreed to the ceremony. Mazibuko said he wanted to clear his name," said Sanderson. He said two policemen also attended the divining ceremony and even recorded events.

Deputy director for traditional leadership and institutions in Mpumalanga's house of traditional leaders, Mbhayimbhayi Manzini, said the house opposed using diviners to identify witches because such cases often ended in a loss of life. He said alternative solutions needed to be found and that the house would investigate the Mazibuko case.

The 1959 Suppression of Witchcraft Act makes it a criminal offence to call someone a witch.

- African Eye