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Villagers yesterday said Ncube maintained that he was innocent and preferred to kill himself rather than pay two head of cattle and money to cleanse the teachers who were “soiled” by the creatures.
They said he was part of a group that arranged to have a cleansing ceremony at Nhlupho Primary and Secondary schools where the goblin menace erupted in March.
“As the village head, Ncube said anyone found responsible for the creatures should be banished from the village, made to pay two head of cattle and the money to cleanse the teachers, among several tough disciplinary measures,” said one of the villagers.
Teachers at the schools said the goblins often slept with female teachers without their knowledge or consent.
“Teachers would wake up naked or with evidence that they had sex during the night. Sometimes we would wake up to find that someone or something had cooked our food at the cottages. We would not have heard anything during the night,” said one of the teachers who declined to be named.
Another teacher said the goblins became abusive when they agreed that a traditional healer should be called to cleanse the schools.
“They would throw stones on the roofs of the cottages or break cutlery during the night. Some teachers eventually fled from the school and the remaining ones threatened not to return this term. This forced villagers to take action,” said the teacher.
Villagers said a meeting was called at which Ncube laid down harsh procedures to be taken to punish the responsible person. “Elders, working with the school board, brought two young men from Binga to conduct a witch-hunt and a cleansing ceremony at the schools on 6 May. The tsikamutandas removed a goblin at the school and another at the village head’s homestead,” said the villager.
Ncube’s son, Mr Sheperd Ncube (38), said he saw the goblins.
He said the tsikamutandas stripped naked before covering themselves with pieces of cloth to conduct the ritual.
“The one that was removed at the school had the head of a baboon and was the size of a big rat. It had a red cloth tied across its face and had black and white beads around its neck. Okunye okukhitshwe khonapha ekhaya bekunje ngowobo,” said Mr Ncube.
His sister, Ms Rita Ncube (35), said the tsikamutandas would suddenly produce “dead goblins” and wave them around, before throwing them into a container, which was later used to burn them at the school.
“They gave my father two weeks in which to pay two head of cattle to them and an undisclosed amount for them to cleanse the teachers,” said Ms Ncube.
She said after her father vigorously professed his innocence, one of the men said Ncube had failed to follow instructions that were given to him when he had his homestead ritually protected against evil spirits and witchcraft.
“He said it was the protection that had turned into goblins that had insatiable sexual appetite,” she explained.
Ms Ncube said on Saturday, the day her father had been given as a deadline to pay up, he disappeared into the bush and was found hanging from a tree in the afternoon.
Asked if they believed that their father owned goblins, family members said they could not comment on his behalf. “We cannot speak on that. Only he can answer your question. We could only say we will not pay whatever he was supposed to pay. Villagers who called this man from Binga should pay him,” said Ms Ncube.
The chairperson of the school board, Mr Miller Sibanda, could not be reached for comment as he was not at his homestead and his mobile number was unreachable.
Online Reporter