Online Reporter
Ethel Ncube
WELCOME to Gokwe North. Here, disputes are not settled with fists.
Villagers whisper that some people catch lightning in a bottle and deploy it against their enemies.
They have a name for them too. The feared “Storm Hitmen”. Others prefer to call them “Lightning Commandos,” shadowy figures believed to unleash thunderbolts like weapons from the sky.
When dark clouds gather above the villages of Chief Chireya’s area, hearts start racing.
Villagers say the moment thunder rumbles across the hills, people scatter like guinea fowl.
Doors slam shut. Children dive under blankets. Elders whisper prayers.
Speaking on the sidelines of Chief Chireya’s traditional court, Ward 4 Councillor Christopher Mapindu nervously looked over his shoulder before speaking.
Then he made a desperate plea.
“Please do not use my picture in the story,” he said quietly.
“It can be used to send a lightning strike to my home.”
The councillor said villagers believe certain individuals secretly practise the mysterious art of directing lightning, but naming them openly could land people in trouble.
“In Zimbabwe, you cannot accuse someone of witchcraft,” he said.
“But people know who the Lightning Commandos are.”
Villagers told B-Metro that people who have quarrelled with suspected Storm Hitmen live in constant dread during the rainy season.
“When the rains come, fear comes with them,” said a villager, on condition of anonymity.
“Some people even leave the village and go to town until the rainy season is over.”
Another villager said lightning sometimes behaves in ways that leave people baffled.
“You can be sitting peacefully and suddenly clouds gather from nowhere,” he said.
“The sky becomes dark, then a blinding flash splits the heavens.”
BOOOOM!
“A thunderbolt crashes down and someone collapses after being struck.”
He added in a hushed tone: “Some people say there are Thunder Dealers here who can send those bolts.”
The fear gripping the community is fuelled by a disturbing death toll.
Clr Mapindu said about nine villagers die each year after being struck by lightning under unclear circumstances.
“What is happening in the ward does not please me at all,” he said.
“Every year, we lose up to nine people who are struck by lightning.”
He said the mysterious deaths have left villagers shaken
