Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A BIZARRE feud has erupted between two women from Redwing Mine area in Penhalonga after one of them confiscated a bucket of dirty bath water for alleged witchcraft purposes.
The matter pitting Tambudzai Charachimwe and Prisca Nhinga, escalated to Chief Mutasa’s community court, drawing a large crowd as the neighbours exchanged accusations and counter-accusations.
Charachimwe alleged that Nhinga confiscated her dirty bath water for witchcraft purposes.
However, Nhinga countered, and stated that she took the water as evidence for spiritual cleansing.
Charachimwe said the incident occurred after she had bathed in preparation for a funeral, and instructed her child to dispose the water.
To her surprise, Nhinga allegedly scooped the water and took it into her house.
“It was early one morning when I bathed inside the house, as I wanted to attend a funeral. I asked my child to dispose the dirty water outside. We usually dispose it there. When my child returned, she informed me that Nhinga had scooped some of the bath water into a bottle and taken it into her house.
I confronted her, and she admitted taking it. Later, she threw it back at us in the presence of witnesses,” Charachimwe told the court.
She further claimed that when she confronted Nhinga’s husband about the strange act, her rival’s spouse mocked her, saying she had only taken the water to see what would happen.
“What pains me the most is that she did not just take the water quietly. She later threw it back at us, seemingly to humiliate me in front of the whole community. That was a weird act. If it was true that her stall was being defiled by our dirty water, why keep the water in a bottle and later use it to taunt me?” added Charachimwe.
She also argued that her family always dispose water at the open space long before Nhinga set up her vending stall nearby.
“She only started vending there after I had reported her actions. She just wants to twist the story and make me look like I am bewitching her. If she truly felt wronged, she could have simply asked us to stop disposing water there. But to secretly scoop the water and take it inside her house raises suspicions of witchcraft,” she continued.
In her defence, Prisca Nhinga admitted taking the water, but insisted she had a valid reason.
“I run a vending stall at my home, and the place where they dispose their dirty water is exactly where I sell my goods. Every day, I have to put up with them defiling my vending area with dirty bath water.
My husband once confronted them about it. On that day, I decided to scoop some of it because I wanted to take it to a spiritual healer to understand if this water was being used to harm me or my work. I had genuine suspicions because it was no longer just an issue of hygiene – it felt like something deeper,” she told Chief Mutasa.
She further explained: “I did not take that water for fun. People here know that dirty water can be used for witchcraft. I wanted answers because I was tired of wondering why they always dispose it on the exact spot where I sell my vegetables. As a mother and vendor, I have to protect my livelihood. If I do not stand up for myself, who will?”
Nhinga also dismissed suggestions that she acted out of malice.
“I never meant to humiliate her. I just wanted proof. If they were innocent, then the healer would have confirmed it. I only reacted the way I did after she came shouting at me in front of everyone. This issue has been dragging on for too long, and I needed a solution,” she said.
Chief Mutasa rebuked both women for their actions.
“I want your husbands to appear before me because this is not a matter for women alone. You cannot be bragging about witchcraft here. If you want to brag, brag about money or progress, not witchcraft. I have had enough of people from Penhalonga dabbling in witchcraft. Taking water that someone has bathed in is tantamount to taking water used to wash a corpse or soil that someone would have stepped on – the intention is always malicious,” said Chief Mutasa, further stressing the seriousness of the matter.
“Do you not see that by doing this, you are planting fear in your neighbours? Today it is dirty water, tomorrow it will be soil or hair or even clothes. This is how communities are torn apart by mistrust. Witchcraft allegations are not trivial matters – they destroy families and reputations.
“If you claim that she is defiling your stall, then find a proper solution. If you claim she is bewitching you, then this court needs evidence, not just suspicions. But for you to take water that came from another person’s body, that is where the danger lies. You know our culture, and you know what such actions mean. You cannot cry foul when people suspect your intentions.”
He ordered both women to return to the court with their husbands for the matter to be finalised.
The matter was adjourned to a later date.
