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Fungai Lupande
Mashonaland Central Bureau
A cleansing ceremony for traditional healers to enhance their powers turned fatal in Chipazi village in Dotito after one of them died after consuming a concoction.
Emily Chiduwa, 67, a well-known herbalist who assisted barren women in Dotito, drank a concoction prepared from fermented local tobacco (chambwa/mbande) by a 23-year-old sangoma and died.
Provincial police spokesperson, Sergeant Major Samuel Chikasha, said the incident happened sometime in September this year when Dorica Masunungure, 23, visited her in-laws in Dotito.
Chiduwa approached Masunungure to enhance her healing powers.
She was advised to bring the local fermented tobacco for the cleansing ceremony.
Sergeant Major Chikasha said Masunungure prepared a concoction by boiling the tobacco in a clay pot and administered it to Chiduwa as a sap on October 2 at around 5 am.
Chiduwa started vomiting and soiled herself after consuming the concoction and rested until 2 pm when her condition started deteriorating.
She was rushed to Mt Darwin Hospital, where she died at around 7 pm.
Masunungure is facing culpable homicide charges.
Online Reporter