Churchgoers on witchhunt
2003-06-18 12:55
Bushbuckridge - Churchgoers turned into witch hunters in rural Limpopo recently and called for a 71-year-old man to be burnt alive.
Hundreds of people skipped church and gathered on a local soccer field in Dumphries, Bushbuckridge, three weeks ago and accused 71-year-old Samuel Sambo of keeping company with zombies.
"They said he'd been seen walking with zombies at night," said Mhala police spokesperson, Inspector Bonginkosi Msimango.
A terrified Sambo denied everything and begged the crowd to hire a sangoma to conduct a proper witch sniffing ceremony.
The crowd agreed and people contributed R50 each to hire a sangoma, but there were still residents who called for the man to be roasted alive.
Sambo reported the matter to police who arrested two people as being the main agitators.
The suspects appeared in court and were not asked to plead on charges of falsely accusing someone of being a witch.
They were released on a warning and are scheduled to appear again on July 14.
Bushbuckridge is a highly superstitious region where many innocent people have been killed after being accused of being witches. - African Eye News Service