Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
AN elderly woman in her 80s told Chief Mutasa’s community court that her life has become unbearable after years of being branded a witch and blamed for deaths and misfortunes within her extended family.
Mbuya Annie Nyabadza dragged several of her sons and relatives before the court last week, seeking intervention after constant accusations and abuse left her living in fear and emotional torment.
The visibly shaken grandmother said she could no longer attend funerals in peace, as relatives openly accused her of causing deaths through witchcraft. “When I go to funerals, people start pointing fingers at me, saying I am the one who killed the deceased. I am now afraid of going to funerals because wherever there is a death, I become the fall guy. Even children in Nyabadza Village now call me a witch who kills people,” she testified.
Nyabadza firmly denied ever practising witchcraft or harming anyone, insisting she had become a victim of rumours and intimidation.
“People call me a witch, but I have never killed or bewitched anyone,” she said, adding that strange incidents around her homestead had deepened fear and suspicion within the family.
“When I am sleeping, I hear strange sounds on top of my house at night and even during the day,” she told the court, explaining that when she tried to report the abuse to her family, some of her sons allegedly threatened to abandon her.
“I once reported this matter at Headman Sakupwanya’s court, but my sons threatened to disown me. I ended up withdrawing the case,” she said.
However, the matter took a dramatic turn when her sister-in-law, identified only as Mai Nyabadza, insisted that the family was being haunted by a mysterious spiritual force linked to events that allegedly took place many years ago.
She said the source of the family’s troubles was not necessarily the elderly woman, but an alleged blood-sucking avenging spirit associated with a deceased man identified as Maoneni, who was allegedly killed by the granny’s husband’s forefathers.
“The truth is that there is someone called Maoneni who died at Mbuya Annie’s husband’s homestead, and it is that spirit that is causing all this bad luck and misfortune. She should just confess,” she said, further alleging that some family members are hiding historical information connected to the spirit, which she claimed was responsible for unexplained misfortunes within the Nyabadza family.
“These people are crooks. They know what happened,” she said.
The woman further shocked the court when she claimed that during the late 1980s she helped build a small hut allegedly linked to the mysterious spiritual entity.
“When I got married in 1988, I was one of the people who built a small house of Mushakata tree at Mbuya Annie’s home. That small house was to house the spirit, and it was supposed to have a family there, with all the children taking the Maoneni surname. We were all told, but they are now claiming to be in the dark,” alleged Mai Nyabadza.
She further claimed that the alleged Maoneni spirit is demanding recognition from the family and village.
“The truth is that Maoneni wants his family and his village from these people. They agreed with this spirit long ago that they will give him a family and a village named after him. That is when they built that small house. However, none of their daughters flatly refused to be the spirit’s wife. Now Maoneni’s family is called Nyabadza,” she claimed.
Mai Nyabadza said the family’s continued misfortunes are linked to its alleged failure to honour traditional expectations surrounding the spirit.
“They were supposed to provide a wife for this goblin, but they keep marrying off their children,” she said.
Mbuya Annie’s son, Phineas Nyabadza, defended his mother, and said the family appears confused about the real source of the alleged misfortunes.
“Our family members abuse my mother by calling her a witch, yet they claim it is bad luck coming from the late Maoneni’s spirit. No one wants their mother harassed like they are doing to my mother,” he said.
Phineas dismissed claims that his late father or grandfather were involved in any killings or dark spiritual practices.
“My father and grandfather never killed anyone, and we do not know anything about the hut for a so-called Maoneni spirit. My father told me the truth,” he said, adding that many of the allegations being raised are based on stories and rumours passed down through generations without proof.
“They claim that this Maoneni was staying with my grandparents, but this is all hearsay,” said Phineas.
Chief Mutasa urged the Nyabadza family to seek peaceful solutions and involve elders from both sides of the family in resolving the matter.
He advised that Mbuya Annie’s paternal relatives should also attend the next hearing so that broader discussions could take place regarding the family dispute.
He subsequently adjourned the matter to May 16.
“I also encourage the Nyabadza family to seek spiritual consultation to restore peace and end the growing tensions tearing the family apart,” he said.
