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Kay Kaseke Sunday News Reporter
A COUPLE from Mahatshula in Bulawayo allegedly kept their dead month-old baby in the house for two days after a prophet claimed he would resurrect it.The baby, Tafara, had an elevated body temperature and turned yellow for two weeks before he died on 5 May. The baby’s parents did not seek medical attention but consulted prophets from the Joanne Masowe weChishanu sect who claimed Tafara had been bewitched.
Mrs Agnes Karombo (21) said she was told by her husband that a prophet had said their baby was not dead but evil spirits had stolen its spirit and through prayers the spirit would be returned.
“Ndakaudzwa nemurume wangu kuti mwana wangu ange asina kufa mazuva aye maviri, akashaya apo muporofita akatadza kumumutsa (my husband told me that my child was not dead for those two days, he only died when the prophet failed to resuscitate him),” she said. She said she was devastated by the death of her son as she was told that there were people in her family who did not want to see her happy.
“I was devastated by the death of my child and I was not willing to believe that he had died since he was my first child,” she said.
Tafara’s father, Mr Samuel Karombo, said in his religion a prophet never lies.
“People should mind their own business. Instead of prying into other peoples’ lives they should make an effort to better theirs. The child died as a result of witchcraft, if we kept his body that is our business,” he said.
A relative of the couple said the prophet did not lie as he is a “true man of God”.
She said the cause of death was witchcraft and nothing else.
“The child was killed by evil people who don’t want to see my sister happy; they want her husband to disown her and divorce her but they will not succeed as the prophet said,” the relative said.
However, Mr Karombo’s mother, Ms Ruvarashe Karombo said the two were purely insane as the baby had been sick for two weeks and they never bothered to take it to hospital.
“They kept a dead body for two days which I consider as madness. They believed lies that their child’s spirit had been stolen and that it would be returned,” she said.
She said she was disappointed that in this day and age, there were people who still believed that a soul could be stolen.
“It’s pure madness to keep a dead body in the house hoping that it will resurrect. Death is death and they should just accept the fact their baby died because they were negligent by not taking it to a hospital or clinic,” she said.
She said the prophet, Madzibaba Jeremiah, was from Nkulumane Johanne Masowe weChishanu sect.
A woman that shares the house with the Karombos said the baby’s body was taken to Gokwe for burial.
Recently in an interview, Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe leader, Johannes Ndanga said apostolic churches did not stop anyone from seeking medical attention but it was a choice made by individuals.
“Apostolic churches do not have rules that say one cannot go the doctor, instead individuals in those churches make that decision for themselves,” he said.
A police officer said that if one dies at home, the death must be reported to the police who transport the corpse to a mortuary where a post-mortem is conducted. The family then applies for a burial order which is approved by the district administrator.
Dr Narcisius Dzvanga, a specialist physician, told Sunday News that elevated body temperature and yellow skin tone in babies could either be caused by jaundice, malaria or hepatitis.
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