Witchcraft in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, this difference of opinion extends to the courts of law. There is conflict on the subject of witchcraft between the traditional courts and the formal courts.

Traditional courts agree that witches exist while the formal courts say witches do not exist.

The Myth

Not much is known about witchcraft in Zimbabwe, except that its practitioners are believed to cause death or injury to other people through supernatural powers that can be affected or sent from remote places.

In Zimbabwe and other African countries the only people who claim to understand witchcraft and to have control over it are traditional healers.

Background

Traditional Courts

Traditional courts, accept the view that witches exist In the past, once an individual was found guilty of practising witchcraft, he or she was sentenced by the court the sentence took various forms In extreme cases the witch was beaten or even killed. Other witches were ordered to leave the village and had their houses destroyed. Ostracism was the mildest form of punishment Some witches were cured. In such a case a doctor was ordered to neutralize or eliminate the evil spirit that possessed the witch.

Although many traditional courts, as well as family gatherings, still try certain cases of witchcraft, legally they are no longer permitted to do so. According to the law of Zimbabwe, such cases must be referred to the formal courts. Cases of witchcraft fall under the Witchcraft Suppression Act [Chapter 9:19]. The Witchcraft Suppression Act was regarded by the traditional courts as a very unjust piece of legislation because the aim of the Act was not to punish witches but those individuals who named others as witches. In 1899 the legislature made it clear in the Act that, although certain people may genuinely believe in witchcraft, it regarded the whole practice of witchcraft as a pretence and a sham, something which in actual fact has no real existence at all.

In the Act witchcraft is referred to as 'so-called witchcraft'. The Witchcraft Suppression Act is aimed at five categories of persons. Firstly, any person who names or indicates any other person as being a witch is guilty of an offence. The second category of persons affected by the Act are persons referred to as 'witch-doctors'; any person who names or indicates any other person as being a witch and is proved at his trial to be by habit and repute a 'witch-doctor' or witch-finder faces a heavy sentence. Thirdly, it is an offence to employ or solicit any other person to name or indicate thieves and other wrong-doers by means of witchcraft; similarly, a person who employs someone to advise him or any other person how by means of witchcraft such thieves or wrong-doers may be identified commits an offence. The fourth group of persons affected by the Act are those who claim to have a knowledge of witchcraft or of the use of charms; it is an offence to advise someone how to bewitch any person or animal or to supply someone with what the Act calls pretended means of witchcraft'. Lastly, anyone who, 'on the advice of a witchdoctor or witch-finder or any person pretending to have the knowledge of witchcraft or the use of charms, or in the exercise of any pretended knowledge of witchcraft or of the use of charms, uses or causes to be put into operation such means or processes as he may have been advised or may believe to be calculated to injure any other person or any property, including animals, shall be guilty of an offence. In other words, anyone attempting to practise what the Act refers to as 'so-called witchcraft' is also guilty.

Formal Courts

Officials of the formal courts of Zimbabwe see their job as eradicating the belief in witchcraft which some people hold. To them, the witch does not exist, and any person who purports to locate him and render him harmless is the real public enemy. Officials of the formal courts agree completely with the Witchcraft Suppression Act. Some African lawyers appear to have some doubts in their minds concerning the correctness of the Act.

Conflict between formal and informal courts

This conflict on the subject of witchcraft between the traditional courts and the formal courts is due to a number of reasons. The first reason concerns the definition of witchcraft. In the Witchcraft Suppression Act, witchcraft is defined as, "the throwing of bones, the use of charms and any other means or device adopted in the practice of sorcery'. As a matter of fact, this definition, which has remained unchanged to this day, says nothing about witches and witchcraft. Throwing of bones is not necessarily done to identify or drive out witches, as many court officials now realize. Throwing of bones is a means of divination, that is to say, a means by which a diviner or medical practitioner determines or attempts to determine, who or what caused an illness or other misfortune complained of by an individual or a group. Another widely employed means of divination in traditional medical practice is spirit possession. Illnesses or misfortunes are not always attributed to witchcraft. There are other possible causes of illness such as ancestor spirits, angered or aggrieved spirits, bacteria and germs. Once the cause of the illness is discovered, treatment may be with medicines, ritual, or a combination of medicines and ritual. In some cases no medicines or ritual may be recommended.

Ammendment of the Witchcraft Suppression Act

The amendment of the Witchcraft Suppression Act in 2006 was hailed by many Zimbabweans as it was perceived that it resonated with Zimbabwe’s culture and tradition.

For so many years Zimbabweans had demanded the amendment of the Act so that the law could recognise the existence of witchcraft, which was made illegal by past colonial regime. The new amendment that took effect in July 2006 was a culmination of years of intense negotiations and acknowledges the fact of the existence of witchcraft in the country.

Incedencies of Witchcraft

• Budirio incidence

Residents of Budiriro in Harare claimed they caught two naked women alleged to be witches with suspected fetish items.^[1]

An eyewitness at the scene said the unclad women were caught around 6 am in another person's house and refused to disclose their mission. The Budiriro Police were immediately informed about the strange incident. On their arrival, they wrapped the women in blankets and took them to the station

• Allegations of Faking Witchcraft

The two Budiriro witches were said to have been hired by fake prophets to masquerade as witches so that they (prophets) could draw clients. Instead, the two are known “prostitutes” from [[Chihota[[ Communal Lands and not from Nembudziya, Gokwe as they initially claimed. It has also been established that they used fake names when they were arrested.

• Nembudziya incidence

It was reported that a 10-year-old girl from Nembudziya was popping thorns from her leg.^[2]

The girl's mother claimed that she had collected more than 40 thorns that were mysteriously popping out of her daughter's leg.

• Snake in a Kombi incidence

A Chihota man who was caught in possession of a snake stunned a Harare magistrate's court after he demanded to have it back sighting it belonged to him, not to Zimbabwe National Parks and Wild Life Authority. Grey Mupinganjira, 32, of Chihota Muhove village in Mahusekwa admitted to owning an Egyptian cobra when he was asked to plead but did not treat possession as an offence when he appeared before magistrate Elijah Makomo.^[3]

When he was arrested, Mpinganjira said the snake belonged to his late mother, who, like him, used it in traditional rituals. A video that went viral showed the snake coiled familiarly around Mpinganjira's neck and shoulders.

• Belvedere incidence

A suspected witch caused chaos in Belvedere when he was found stark naked at a house opposite Harare Institute of Technology in the early hours of the morning with suspected tools of the witchcraft trade.^[4]

A witness said the suspect was caught in their family yard naked before he was taken for questioning by the police. Said the suspect:

Around 4 am, we heard our alarm ringing and we woke up only to find a naked man outside the house. At first, we thought he was a thief masquerading as a madman so we chased him from the yard. He came back later so we decided to call in the police for assistance

• Kadoma Incidence

It was reported that one Amai Chiteme and her son were caught stark naked in their yard holding fresh human flesh with blood all over their naked bodies. They were caught in Kadoma's Rimuka area.^[5]

References