Houses of suspected witches set alight

Tshikuwi village in the Nzhelele area was very tense  at the weekend, with sporadic incidents of violence reported all over the village.

Angry community members, mostly youths, went on the rampage, blockading the main road to Wylliespoort and other village roads with big rocks, electricity poles and buring tyres. The nasty incident which left the village resembling a war zone took place as a result of allegations of witchcraft in the village. The police maintained a heavy presence in the village throughout the weekend.

Two houses belonging to suspected witches were burnt to the ground, but fortunately the occupants were saved by the police, who took them to the police station. Four vehicles belonging to the police were also damaged during the mayhem.

According to information from sources in the village, who wanted to remain annonymous, the whole witchunt started after a teenage girl had been missing from the village for a day. The sources said the girl arrived back the following morning and told residents that she had been kept somewhere by "wizards".

As a result, the residents wanted the police to take her to the place where she alleged she had been kept, which they refused to do. "We feel that the girl has a genuine case and that what she is alleging is true, but the police are failing us. Why don't they just do what we want and take her with some representatives from the community to verify what she is saying? This is what is leading to the chaos in the village and we are not going to stop until they accede to our demands," said the angry residents.

The resident said they burnt the houses of the alleged witches out of frustration that the police are not doing anything. Ironically, the suspected witches are poor old grannies living by themselves and with their children.

Dzanani police spokesperson W/O Lazarus Netshidzati said their hands were full as they had to work throughout the weekend to get the situation under control. "There were several blockades on the main street here and we have been able to clear the area, but the problem is when we are busy clearing this side, more are put on the other side. We have brought more reinforcements and the road is open again for the public."

He added that they had opened two cases of arson, one of public violence and a count of assault with respect to one of the accused family members who was assaulted by members of the community.

Ntshidzati said no arrests had been made so far but said they were eminent as some suspects were known.

Date:16 January 2015

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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