Sundaymail Editor
ZIMBABWE woke up to shocking news that a father forced himself on his daughter at a prison complex where he lived with his wife, who works there, before making good his escape to where only God knows.
In a separate incident, another man confessed to bedding his mother and sisters to make a quick buck.
The man said he desperately needed the help of traditional and faith healers to return charms back to whoever gave him or get them destroyed.
These stranger than fiction stories could only be the tip of an iceberg.
People are doing a lot of despicable things to earn respect, acquire top posts and unlock instant riches.
These obnoxious acts that arouse moral indignation are being performed on spouses, strangers and family members. It is not unusual to walk on the streets, only to be greeted by tales of people who have become so engrossed in the use of magical charms that it has become part of their DNA.
“Nyika kwayava kuenda hapana achaidzora, kumawere, kunotyisa. Vanhu vaye havachatya kufa, vakutorwira kuda kuona anotanga kufa. Kana kudovayambira, hapana achanzwa. Takungotarisa kwazvinoperera. Vanoti musi waunofa yaguma kwauri, vanosara tosara tichienda mberi,” sang the late legendary Marshall Munhumumwe in the timeless classic called ‘Kumawere’.
True to the singer’s observations, the world has gone upside down and people are doing weird things on an average day and it calls for a moral broom to sweep away the dirt they are piling up with their horrendous acts.
Walking on footpaths in both urban and rural areas, one is sure to be greeted by all sorts of muti at crossroads and broken claypots, among a motley of other smelly paraphernalia.
Goats, black chickens, black cats and wads of notes are also usually left in bushes in a practice called kurasirira as people seek to cleanse themselves of troubles.
A walk along the banks of the heavily polluted Mukuvisi River in the capital will reveal empty packets of milk, egg shells, snuff, rice and grains of sorghum, millet and rapoko, as well as sweet potato leaves which traditional healers and prophets instruct their clients to use.
Sadly, these things sometimes find their way into workplaces where tiny pebbles that are popularly known as “muteuro” are tossed into the boss’ office or drawer to make him see the users in better light and, perhaps, consider them for promotion.
As I commit pen to paper, gentle reader, flowerbeds at most workplaces and under the carpets of various offices, one is sure to be greeted by a lot of stuff prescribed by traditional healers.
Most people, especially those in the informal sector, unfortunately, trust lucky charms so deeply that they have become regular clients of visionaries and those with the spirit of divination.
Married women and those seeking love are also known to frequent these places, thus making use of muti as common as the word hallelujah.
“You cannot be a complete person when you simply live a life without consulting prophets.
“This is why you see yourself sometimes getting into unnecessary trouble with the police or being involved in accidents. A real man needs to visit a visionary to light up the way for them,” I heard an old wizened fellow telling his nephew in a bar.
People are now so given to the use of muti that they ascribe everything that comes their way – be it good fortune, death, divorce, marriage and promotion – to this.
It is now so difficult for people to accept meals from friends and relatives because of the fear of using charms.
“I was so hungry but I could not eat from his house because I know he dabbles in muti. I no longer eat at funerals and weddings these days because vanhu vari kushereketa,” I heard a workmate saying recently.
Gentle reader, muti or no muti, nothing beats the greatness of God.
Inotambika mughetto.
rosenthal. [email protected]
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