Superstition or magic . . . The beliefs, myths and fears fuelling Zimbabwean witch-hunters

They stalk the countrya��s rural areas, confronting and dealing blows to supernatural foes that many believe are still a scourge in Zimbabwea��s countryside. A�

Snakes, goblins and other accessories to the night-time crimes of witches and wizards are weeded out in broad daylight during dramatic ceremonies where exposure by the witch-hunters, known locally as tsikamutandas, is usually followed by confessions from the perpetrators.

From fathers who admit to having commandeered bolts of lightning and instructed them to strike down errant sons to cash hungry mothers who claim to possess money-churning serpents that sleep with their children, tsikamutandas have exposed them all.

Usually the exploits of these supernatural bounty hunters, who are usually rewarded in beasts when the job is well done, are confined to the countryside where their legendary bouts with the dark forces are the stuff of lore.

While their work periodically brings them to the countrya��s urban centres, their mysterious talents are not an urgent requirement there and thus they are not as celebrated in the bright lights of the city.

However, last week the far reaching impact of their fantastic activities seemed to have echoed as far as the countrya��s corridors of power.

Instead of praise they might have envisioned for their famed tangles with the evil creatures of the underworld, they received a stern rebuke from the Zimbabwean cabinet which basically denounced them as charlatans.

a�?In its meeting, on November 28, Cabinet reached a decision pronouncing the perennially reported rampant activities of witch-hunters widely known as tsikamutandas as criminal, fraudulent and extortionists. Cabinet noted with much regret and concern that a significant part of traditional leaders embracing chiefs, headmen, village heads are by commission or omission condoning this evil, primitive, extortionists and illegal practice that is condemned by our national laws,a�? said Information and Broadcasting Service Minister Christopher Mushohwe.

The statement was strongly worded and rightly so, as in the past witch-hunters have proven to be far from saints. This only got worse in the past year where they were not only frequent visitors to troubled homesteads but the countrya��s courts of law.

Over the past year, tsikamutandas from all over the country have been in court for an assortment of crimes that range from the colourful and hilarious to the grotesque and harrowing.

In Rusape last year, two Chinoyi witch-hunters were caught trying to plant a snake in the homestead of a family they were trying to fleece two beasts from.

In January this year after getting hired for a cleansing ceremony, a family in Siboza village, 100 kilometres outside Gwanda woke up with next to nothing to their names after tsikamutandas stripped them of their entire property while they were sleeping in another hut.

In October this year, witch-hunters in the Nyamajura area of Odzi became as monstrous and menacing as the dark forces they claim to sniff out when they allegedly went on a terror spree which culminated in the kidnapping of the Nyamujira Secondary School head girl, who was forced to miss an O-level national examination paper.

While these and other incidents prompted Governmenta��s publicised response on twitter and other social networks, the statement was met with derision by commentators that it was not an issue that warranted cabinet intervention as they were more pressing issues to address.

However, those on the platform who spoke on the subject betrayed a lack of understanding of the gravity of the influence and impact of the self-appointed tsikamutandas, who assemble small crack teams for months-long sojourns in villages and stalk the countryside in packs.

While rural to urban migration over the last few decades might have diluted some myths and belief in the dark arts, 67% of the countrya��s population still lives in the rural areas where belief in the supernatural still abounds.

A decade ago, Zimbabwe acknowledged the existence of the supernatural when it amended the colonial Witchcraft Suppression Act which denied the existence of the phenomenon.

According to The Pew Research Centre Survey, conducted in 2010, a quarter of Zimbabweans, including those in urban areas, believe in witchcraft even though it is a Christian country.

With official recognition of witchcraft and pre-existing fears and superstitions, the presence of witch-hunters is all but guaranteed although the existence of the tsikamutandas pre-dates any change in the countrya��s laws.

According to one-time witch-hunter Lazarus Siziba, the name tsikamutanda itself was born in 1994 although it is unclear when and where the practice itself originated.

a�?In 1994, there were sacred mountains in the province of Manicaland where some people disturbed the procedures angering the ancestors. As a result mermaids started sleeping with villagers and the victims were found dead with missing body parts.a�?

a�?Then one man who only identified himself as Gaurani came to the area and announced that he had come to save the villagers.A� He wanted to trap all witches and therefore put a log which all villagers were made to step on, but witches and wizards got stuck on it.

a�?When calling the next person to jump, he said tsika mutanda (step on the log),a�? revealed Siziba.

Despite their gung-ho attitude, tsikamutandas usually flourish due to the approval of local traditional. Sometimes when a village gains notoriety for witchcraft, the tsikamutandas appear to check back in line those that have been abusing their dark powers.

Despite recent calls for chiefs to denounce and reject them, witch-hunters are sometimes touted as the only option for those confronted with forces that are out of the ordinary.

When an area becomes a�?infesteda�? with goblins or witches that make life unbearable for other villagers, a chief or headman will gather the villagers where it is usually agreed to rope in tsikamutandas to deal with the threat. The witch-hunters usually cana��t operate without a chiefa��s permission, which explains why the second part of the Governmenta��s statement also took a dig at some rural leaders.

However, the bedrock of tsikamutandasa�� popularity not only lies in superstition and local support but in their ability to shock and awe. The business of dragging out maleficent monsters is not a pretty one, and whenever they do their job, they inject their performances with the kind of drama that shows their a�?skilla�? and effort. In that sense, tsikamutandas are the long-lost cousins of the countrya��s new glut of prophets, who bring theatre to the practice of miracle making.

Needless to say, both hardly lack an audience.

But where did these witch-hunters come from?

The one defining feature about the tsikamutandas is that they rarely operate in their own home areas, finding comfort instead in slaying monsters away from home.

a�?Ita��s difficult for people who watched you grow up and those you grew up with to appreciate your gift. The trickiest part is your motives can easily be misconstrued.

a�?Imagine if I flush out a goblin at my neighboura��s homestead, other villagers will suspect malice and accuse me of trying to settle personal scores. Ita��s easier to be appreciated if people dona��t know you which is why most of us operate away from our home areas. If another tsikamutanda from a different area will come to my area they are easily accepted,a�? said 39-year-old Gokwe-born Kumbulani Moyo, one of the witch-hunters operating in Ntabazinduna who comes from Gokwea��s Nembudziya area.

For some time tsikamutandas operated untouched, but recent statements and efforts by the authorities and traditional leaders suggest that the walls might be closing on these maverick hunters. Some among them including Siziba, who is now a licenced traditional healer, have seen the signs and abandoned the trade before the lights are completely shut on their dark craft.

a�?A person should either be a prophet or a traditional healer and this whole tsikamutanda thing is a pure lie because I know these people and have worked with them.

a�?They cannot expose witches, but only real prophets and traditional healers can do that,a�? said Siziba whose Damascene moment came after he had been arrested for terrorising villagers in Matopo in April. a�� southerntimes
out of the ordinary. When an area becomes a�?infesteda�? with goblins or witches make life unbearable for other villagers, a chief or headman will gather the villagers where it is usually agreed to rope in the Tsikamutanda to deal with the threat. The witch-hunters usually cana��t operate without a chiefa��s permission, which explains why the second part of the governmenta��s statement also took a dig at some rural leaders.

However, the bedrock of Tsikamutandasa�� popularity not only lies in superstition and local support but in their ability to shock and owe. The business of dragging out maleficent monsters is not a pretty one, and whenever they do their job, they inject their performances with the kind of drama that shows their a�?skilla�? and effort. In that sense, Tsikamutandas are the long-lost cousins of the countrya��s new glut of prophets, who bring theatre to the practice of miracle making. Needless to say, both hardly lack an audience.

But where did these witch-hunters come from?

The one defining feature about the Tsikamutandas is that they rarely operate in their own home areas, finding comfort instead in slaying monsters away from home.

a�?Ita��s difficult for people who watched you grow up and those you grew up with to appreciate your gift. The trickiest part is your motives can easily be misconstrued.

a�?Imagine if I flush out a goblin at my neighbora��s homestead, other villagers will suspect malice and accuse me of trying to settle personal scores. Ita��s easier to be appreciated if people dona��t know you which is why most of us operate away from our home areas. If another tsikamutanda from a different area will come to my area they are easily accepted,a�? said 39-year-old Gokwe born Kumbulani Moyo, one of the witch-hunters operating in Ntabazinduna who comes from Gokwea��s Nembudziya area.

For some time Tsikamutandas operated untouched, but recent statements and efforts by the authorities and traditional leaders suggest that the walls might be closing on these maverick hunters. Some among them including Siziba, who is now a licensed traditional healer, have seen the signs and abandoned the trade before the lights are completely shut on their dark craft.

a�?A person should either be a prophet or traditional healer and this whole tsikamutandas thing is a pure lie because I know these people and have worked with them.

a�?They cannot expose witches, but only real prophets and traditional healers can do that,a�? said Siziba whose Damascene moment after he had been arrested for terrorising villagers in Matopo in April. -southerntimes.