Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A CLAREMONT widow has appealed to Chief Mutasa’s community court to order her late husband’s relatives to remove a cock they allegedly left at her homestead following traditional rituals, claiming the bird has become a source of fear, illness and misfortune.
Mbuya Emily Sakubende told the community court last Saturday that her health had deteriorated since the relatives deposited the cock at her home along with an undisclosed amount of money after conducting rituals linked to alleged goblins and an avenging spirit.
The widow said she has been living in constant anxiety, believing the presence of the bird is connected to a series of troubling events, including recurring illness and the unexplained deaths of her cattle.
“I am no longer at peace in my own home. Since the cock was left here, I have been constantly sick and my livestock have been dying mysteriously,” she told the court, pleading for intervention.
Sakubende asked the traditional court to compel her late husband’s relatives to take back the bird, arguing that its continued presence at the homestead has left her fearing for her safety and well-being.
The court heard that the cock was left at the family homestead shortly after relatives carried out unspecified traditional rites believed to address ancestral concerns. However, the widow maintains that she neither agreed to keep the bird nor understood the purpose for which it was left behind.
“What I need is for Robert and his brothers to collect their cock and the money they left at my home. I have not known peace since their dumping of the cock.
“Every time I see it, I start shivering and become unwell. I am now living in fear because I think I might die if it remains there,” said Mbuya Sakubende, adding that the ordeal stemmed from family disputes that erupted following the death of one of her late husband’s brothers.
“My husband’s brother died and during his funeral they accused each other of causing his death. Prophets were called and accused Robert, who confessed that he had performed self-shielding rituals to protect himself from my husband, Joseph,” said Mbuya Sakubende, adding that the matter was first heard by Headman Nyamaropa, who referred the family to a traditional healer to establish the source of the alleged misfortunes.
“A seconded traditional healer claimed that my husband was responsible. I was summoned to attend the hearing,” she said, adding that claims were made that her late husband had acquired goblins and wealth-enhancing charms from two traditional healers, but had failed to pay for them, resulting in mysterious deaths and other unexplained problems within the family.
“They said my late husband had obtained goblins from two traditional healers and that relatives were dying because he failed to pay them. However, when one of the healers was called to confirm the allegations, he denied ever giving my husband any wealth-enhancing charms,” she said.
Despite maintaining that her late husband had done nothing wrong, Mbuya Sakubende had reluctantly agreed to settle the alleged debt in the hope of ending the family’s disputes.
“I agreed that I would pay on behalf of my late husband. They forcibly took my cattle and gave them to the two healers as payment,” she said, further arguing that the family had wrongly blamed her husband.
“I later discovered that it was actually Robert who had obtained the goblins and charms from the two traditional healers, not my husband,” she said.
Mbuya Sakubende said the relatives stormed her homestead with a live cock and some money and performed some rituals on her property without her consent.
“They came to my home carrying a live cock and some money. They performed rituals and dumped everything there before leaving,” she said, adding that what transpired afterwards convinced her that the rituals had brought misfortune upon her otherwise tranquil household.
“When I returned home that day, I suddenly became seriously ill and ended up being admitted in hospital. On the same day, one of my cows died mysteriously. Since then, every time I see the cock, I begin to shiver. I no longer have peace at my own home,” she said.
Mbuya Sakubende further accused her in-laws of tarnishing, both her name and that of her late husband by spreading false allegations that they possessed bloodthirsty goblins.
“They approached my parents and told them that my husband and I possessed goblins. I am embarrassed by the allegations involving things I don’t know anything about,” she said.
Responding to the allegations, Douglas Sakubende, maintained that the family’s actions were based on instructions they had received during consultations over the mysterious deaths.
“We were told that there are three goblins in our family which were obtained by our uncles, two of whom are now late. The goblins do not belong to only one person, but to several of my uncles. People are dying regularly because of these goblins,” said Douglas, adding that the family is working on appeasing the traditional healers who are said to be the source of the charms.
“We are in the process of paying the two healers where the goblins were obtained. Our uncles, Robert, Joseph and Richard were identified as the culprits who obtained the goblins and failed to pay,” he said, defending the decision to dump the live cock at his aunt’s home, saying they were following instructions given during the consultations.
“We took the cock to her homestead because there is an avenging spirit in the family. We were told that our uncle, Joseph, killed our nephew, so the cock had to be left there. The nephew’s avenging spirit was transferred onto the cock to avenge its death,” he said.
Chief Mutasa strongly criticised the family’s conduct, saying they had no right to invade the widow’s homestead and perform rituals without her consent.
He also questioned why the family chose to leave the bird at the deceased man’s homestead while alleging that another living relative was equally responsible.
Chief Mutasa rebuked the relatives for confiscating the widow’s cattle as payment without her consent, warning that their actions amount to criminal offences.
He also ordered those who took the cock to the widow’s homestead to take it together with the money, and further directed the family to seek further consultations from other healers.
