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Blessing khanye
THERE was drama in Makokoba suburb in Bulawayo, when a suspected mentally challenged elderly man who was found wandering and naked at one of the houses in the suburb was mistaken for a wizard.
The incident happened two weeks ago. Residents suspected the man was on a witchcraft expedition that went wrong after he entered a house in the suburb, believed to be protected against witches.
A resident who identified herself as MaNdlovu, claimed the man was mistaken for a wizard because he was found wandering around naked at one of the residents’ houses.
“One of the residents who was on his way to work saw the stark naked man shivering uncontrollably. The man asked him what he was doing, but he just mumbled things he couldn’t understand.
So, he called out to people passing by for help. The crowd, however, started accusing him of witchcraft when he couldn’t explain why he was outside naked early in the morning.
They kept asking him what he was doing, but he only smiled back at them.”
MaNdlovu added that it was not until one of the residents recognised the man as mentally challenged that the situation calmed down.
“The residents then provided him with clothes to wear and some food, as he appeared very hungry. The man was lucky he wasn’t attacked by the crowd that had gathered around him, suspecting him of being a wizard. It seems he got lost in the dark and ended up at the house,” said another resident, Enock Nyathi.
Meanwhile, a similar incident happened in Luveve suburb in August 2018 when a mentally challenged woman was also mistakenly accused of being a witch when she was found tiptoeing on graves at Luveve Cemetery.
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Online Reporter