adminAbel Zhakata Senior Reporter
WAY into the 21st century with the advent of new information technologies that are spearheading economic development and rapid social transformation, the issue of ritual killings is still troubling many communities in Zimbabwe and Africa in general. The practice of ritual killings, which is essentially medieval, is supposed to be a long forgotten traditional malpractice that was conducted by closed communities with limited knowledge of how businesses are run and bereft of modern ideals of aggressive social marketing.
Ritual killings are committed for the purpose of taking human body parts which are used to prepare charms and other traditional medicines. These charms are believed to have supernatural powers which are greatly enhanced if the organs are removed whilst the victim is still alive.
In most African countries there is a belief that human body parts have supernatural powers that bring good fortune or make criminals invisible to police and other authorities.
In the last five years, a litany of ritual murders have been reported in the country with indications that the perpetrators are doing so at the behest of local businesspeople who want to use the charms to enhance their enterprise.
With the current economic problems facing the country that are characterised by a liquidity crunch and dwindling markets for goods, businesspeople with traditional beliefs are failing to read between the lines in order to adjust their operations and stay afloat.
Their remedy in these trying times has gone supernatural hence the current ritual killings that are making the headlines these days.
The troubling murder of a seven-year-old boy in Zimunya whose body was found heavily mutilated along Murere River recently has brought to the fore the seemingly undying practice that human body parts can make business wonders.
By his own admission Jonathan Makuwaza, the chief suspect in the ritual murder case that has been raging on for weeks now, said he, and four other accomplices were offered $5 000 to supply body parts to a businessman at Mpudzi.
For once, the case has brought together Zimunya villagers who have forked a few dollars at their disposal to ensure that the people behind the murder were exposed and brought to book using the traditional court system.
Following Langton’s gruesome murder parents were forced to escort their children to and from school fearing they might be the next target.
So tense was the situation in Zimunya that the noise to hunt down the perpetrators of the heinous crime grew louder by the day.
Although Langton’s case is still at the courts and Makuwaza is deemed innocent until proven guilty regardless of the fact that he is confessing to have committed the crime, several lessons were learnt.
The Zimunya traditional court system is vibrant and competent. After Langton was murdered the villagers had no clue of what had happened save for suspecting Makuwaza because soon after the boy’s murder he was implicated to have robbed some villagers at night.
As a suspect to the murder, he was quizzed by the police but there was no evidence nailing him.
However, at the call of the traditional leadership in Chitora Village, money was raised to finance trips to traditional healers in Chipinge who were useful in naming the suspect.
The n’angas that were visited named Makuwaza as the culprit and this gave the villagers the power to confront him and take him before Chief Zimunya to answer to charges that were being leveled against him.
At this point, law enforcement agents were not called in because it was a traditional court system dealing with findings of n’angas that do not necessarily make evidence in a competent modern day court of law.
Homicide detectives who were handling the case only got interested when Makuwaza opened up before Chief Zimunya and confessed to killing the boy.
His confession resulted in detectives tying some loose ends on how the murder was perpetrated. Their work was to synchronize whether the confession of Makuwaza was consistent with the evidence they found at the scene or the post mortem results. Had it not been for the traditional court system that brought into play traditional investigating methods of using traditional healers, Makuwaza would not have confessed openly as he did?
Up to this day the murder would have been a mystery because the suspects had swept clean all evidence that could nail them. The unity shown by villagers was phenomenal because the threat was widespread.
Those who have read deeply on law enforcement will agree that the greatest weapon to fighting crime is by community involvement.
The basic thinking here is that crimes are committed among people in communities and the answers to solving them are embedded within the people. If the people open up and are more willing to help nothing will be swept under the carpet. When Langton murder is finally solved, Zimunya villagers will be biggest winners because their efforts to expose the crime would have paid well.
In the same vein, traditional leaders have a big task before them to demystify the concept of ritual killings among their subjects.
Yes, some city businesspeople have been fingered to be party to this outdated belief but the practice is widespread in rural areas.
Acting Chief Zimunya fumed after Makuwaza confessed to the murder saying he was out to set an example and ensure that all businesses that are sponsoring the brutal killings of his subjects will be closed.
“Let us use our modern day business intelligence to run our enterprises and not old beliefs that human parts make money.
“We don’t want such culprits in Zimunya. We are going to close all shops belonging to people linked to these ritual murders,” he said.
Online Reporter