A village under siege… Villagers agonise as rogue tsikamutandas empty their kraals, leave behind divided communities

Raymond Jaravaza in Gwelutshena, Nkayi
UNLIKE some who have been cowed into submission, she would rather be banished from her village than lose self-respect and livestock to strangers who have invaded the village under the guise of being spiritual healers and exorcists.

Deep in the heart of Nkayi, in Gwelutshena Village, lies a home where a brave woman, Londa Dube and others like her, are fighting a war that is little known by the outside world. They are all alone.

It’s a war against a group of men who call themselves spiritual healers and have come to Dube’s village to cleanse the area of evil spirits and witchcraft. They call themselves tsikamutandas.

A month ago, villagers in Ward 29 in Gwelutshena, woke up to the news that a group of eight men, led by one Bishop Sweswe had come to do the “Lord’s work” by cleansing the area of evil, sorcery, goblins and demons.
Tsikamutandas are not new to most villages across the country but it’s their modus operandi that has got Dube and other villagers angry and frustrated

“They came to our village a month ago and set up base in the bush where our livestock graze and they go to villagers’ homes uninvited, claim that someone has a goblin, claim to destroy it and demand to be paid with a cow or several goats or money that is equivalent to a cow.

“We are suffering in silence. I will never give anyone my livestock simply because they said that I’m a witch or that I have goblins. Our cattle and goats are our source of livelihood and for someone to just demand izifuyo zethu (our livestock) is just not fair,” Dube told Saturday Chronicle.

She has been a villager in the area since she married her husband in the 1980s, but the level of mistrust among the villagers after the coming of the “spiritual healers” is something that deeply bothers her.

“Some neighbours are no longer talking to one another because the tsikamutandas have accused one of them of bewitching the other. They will leave us a divided community yet we used to live in peace and sort out our differences amicably,” she adds.
Other villagers refuse to talk, some ask for anonymity as they fear reprisal. The tsikamutandas are unforgiving to people who stand in their way.

Dube directs the news crew to the tsikamutandas’ base. True to her word, about three kilometres from her homestead, in the middle of grazing land, is what one might mistake for a home that accommodates a family and its extended members.

But what quickly catches the eye is that the “home” is in a grazing area, has no neighbours and evidently has a temporary structure that can be easily dismantled at any given time when the need arises.

A young man, barely 18 years old, named Alfred, welcomes the Saturday Chronicle crew, and asks if we have come for a consultation with the head of the group, Bishop Sweswe.

The so-called bishop is in Bulawayo to get his vehicle fixed and his lieutenants, Tshuma, Khumalo and Gumede can assist in his absence but are running errands at the village’s shops, Alfred tells us.
Two women are sleeping under a tree but it’s not clear if they are also seeking assistance or are part of the group.

A trailer, with animal manure in it, stands in the middle of the yard and we ask young Alfred what it is used for and he unwittingly lets the cat out of the bag.

“We use it to transport cattle and goats that Bishop Sweswe would have been paid for services rendered. You can wait for Gumede and the other guys to assist you but they have gone to the shops. If you want to see the bishop himself, please come back tomorrow, he will be back from Bulawayo,” he says.

A skinned goat hangs from a tree near a fireplace and dirty dishes are scattered all over the place.
It’s a home away from home for the tsikamutandas. A home in the middle of a grazing area, away from villagers like Dube who will not be coerced or forced to pay for unwanted services.

Our next stop is at the village head’s home. Khunga Ndlovu at first professes ignorance about the presence of the self-proclaimed spiritual healers but after being shown pictures, changes tune and says he has no idea that they are forcibly taking villagers’ livestock after offering unwanted services.

“I have heard that they are helping villagers, but I had no idea that they are forcing people to pay them with cattle and goats for their services. It’s something that I will have to look into. We can’t allow anyone to force villagers to pay them for services that they would not have asked for.

“In other areas, a villager only pays when they voluntarily ask for assistance from the tsikamutandas,” said the village head.
Bishop Sweswe, over the phone, vehemently denied taking villagers’ livestock for unwanted services. He said he was called to the area by the local leadership to get rid of a creature that was eating villagers’ food at night.

Article Source: The Chronicle