Witchcraft scare

Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
VILLAGERS from Madlambuzi in Matabeleland South are living in fear after they recently discovered a human skull filled with fresh blood hidden in a cave.
Never Moyo, a villager, has reportedly been identified as the owner of the skull.His grisly secret was exposed by a boy who discovered the skull while hunting last week.

The boy then alerted village elders. The traditional leader in the area, Chief Madlambuzi, said Moyo admitted that he knew about the skull after being questioned by the community leadership and the police.

“We got the shock of our lives when we saw a human skull which contained blood recently. I was summoned by the police when the skull, which was hidden in a cave, was discovered by a boy from the area.

“When I arrived at the scene I found the skull and to my surprise, it was filled with fresh blood. We summoned Moyo as his homestead is close to where the skull was found,” he said.

Added Chief Madlambuzi: “Moyo’s younger brother then revealed that his brother used to visit the area where the skull was found but her never knew what he was doing there.

“That is when Moyo admitted that he had seen the skull before as he buried it over 30 years ago but he denied having used the skull for witchcraft purposes.”
Chief Madlambuzi said Moyo revealed that he got the skull from the body of a dead man that he found near his homestead soon after independence in 1980.

“Moyo told us that he found a body of a dead man lying close to his homestead over 30 years back. He said the body was already decomposed. He was startled by the discovery and he dumped the body in a cave.

He said the area’s traditional leadership had agreed to carry out further investigations to ascertain whether Moyo was behind this shocking discovery.
“We do not know whether the blood which was found in the skull was from a human being or an animal. Whatever the case, we need to find out who has been using the skull because that person is a danger to the community.

“As the traditional leadership of the community we have agreed to work flat out to ensure that we catch whoever is behind this,” said Chief Madlambuzi.
The Councillor of the area, Jabeth Mlalazi said the skull was buried by villagers recently close to the cave. “We handed over the skull to the police as they wanted to carry out some investigations. Thereafter they handed over the skull to the community and we buried it close to the cave where it was found.

“It comes as a huge shock to the community. Obviously someone in the area has been using a human skull for witchcraft. That is a very frightening thought,” she said.