'I killed the Tokoloshe'

Fhulufhedzani Munzhelele (26) of Tshifudi-Mushungwa outside Thohoyandou says he now  believes in the power of prayer more than ever before. That is after he narrowly escaped death at the hands of a fierce animal believed to be a tokoloshe.

On Saturday, Munzhelele, a father of two and a very staunch member of the Zionist Church, attended a church prayer meeting. His aim was to share prayers with fellow congregants, but what he got that day “was more than a prayer, as I got a prophecy that something strange was going to visit my home and that if I did not kill it, it would kill me.”

In the early hours of Sunday, at about 03:00, the prophecy unfolded. “I was asleep when I heard strange sounds outside and the barking of dogs. It immediately occurred to me that this could be the time of the fierce fight that could cost my life.”

On venturing out of the house, he found a strange creature in a small tree next to the hut. “The creature was crying like a small baby,” Munzhelele said.

He said he fought the strange animal with his three dogs, but the fight got very intense and two of his dogs retreated, leaving him by himself with his trusted and brave dog, Zwitshele. “I knew that if I allowed it to subdue us, it would be the end for both me and my dog, and the fight continued until about 05:00, when the dog managed to kill the animal,” he said.

Munzhelele further indicated that those who arrived at his house in the morning identified the creature as a tokoloshe. "I cannot dispute that, because I have never seen such an animal in my entire life. The fact that I was told that it would kill me if I did not kill it first, shows that it has to do with witchcraft, and I am just happy that God revealed this to me before it could happen."

He added that he had seen the power of prayers. “...this will make me revere God all the time and rely on prayer,” he said.

Munzhelele’s neighbour, Mpho Mulaudzi, said he heard the barking of dogs in the early hours of Sunday, with this friend calling his name. “I thought he was going on an early hunting trip and that he wanted me to go with. On arrival, I saw this creature coming straight at me, standing on two legs. I had to give way, otherwise it would have attacked me too,” he said.

Another woman, who did not want her name published, said the tokoloshe had been terrorizing her family for some time. “Yes, it is the same as this one. It would come and cry like a child at our house, and it scared the whole family. Now that it is dead I think we will have peace in the family,” she said.

Also read:

Letter 15 May 2015 - 'It is a greater bushbaby, not a tokoloshe'

Date:08 May 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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