Woman holds rituals in neighboura��s fields

Rutendo Karuva/Tracey Jaka
A LOWER Gweru woman was caught in her neighboura��s field with a bucket full of furs and private parts of a baboon.

Noreen Shoko was trapped by her neighbours after suspicions that she used juju to reap a good harvest.

Village sources said they had always been suspicious of Shoko because she did not hire anyone to help her with farm work but still came out as the best farmer.

a�?Shoko is a widow, she stays with her young children but no matter how dry the season is, even when the whole country is complaining about bad rains she will get a good harvest and always come first in the best farmer awards,a�? said the source.

The villagersa�� suspicions were proven correct when Tineyi Mako caught her red handed in his field performing rituals at dawn.

Mako told B-Metro that he caught Shoko after hearing funny sounds coming from his field. He thought probably his cattle were eating his maize.

a�?I first heard noises coming from my left field and I decided to go and check what was going on only to see my neighbour speaking in a strange language I dona��t even understand,a�? he said.

He then mobilised other neighbours.

a�?I called my neighbours before confronting her because I was scared and we then went and saw what she was doing in my field in the early hours, but shockingly we saw her with a bucket full of grey baboon furs and a dried baboona��s private part, thata��s when she revealed that she got all the tricks from her relatives in Binga. She claimed that in order to get a good harvest she was told to place those things in her villagersa�� fields where every year she would shift the bucket from one villagera��s fields to another,a�? said Mako.

Surprisingly, Shoko begged the villagers not to destroy the bucket as it was her only source of wealth but they destroyed it as they claimed to be suffering because of her.

a�?She begged other villagers who were there not to destroy her bucket because it was her source of wealth and she was saying it didna��t harm anyone though she was placing it in other villagersa�� fields,a�? said Mako.

When Shoko was contacted for a comment she justified herself.

a�?Villagers are quoting me wrong, I didna��t use the furs to affect their yields, they are seeing me as a witch who uses baboons to affect them, I only did it so that I can be able to take care of my family as I am the only breadwinner,a�? said Shoko.