radiovop - Makande rural clinic situated 60 kilometres south-west of Karoi town was forced to close for two weeks after nurses fled following attacks by ‘’goblins’’ prompting traditional leaders to hire people to exorcise the area (tsikamutandas).Makande-a malaria prone area is under Chief Musampakaruma of Nyaminyami’s Kariba rural.
Villagers said the goblins attacks came at a time when nurses were busy with a malaria programme aimed at reducing malaria related deaths, which are prevalent in the area.
Villager Edmore Mukapa of Kadziro area said, ‘’we were not expecting goblins to attack nurses who are trying hard to reduce malaria outbreak here. It’s unfortunate for us’’
A teacher at Makande primary school said school children were also causalities of attacks daily.
‘’Attacking nurses with goblins leave us vulnerable. Goblins owners do not accept payments to their demands. You can not force them to accept the payments because of the Witch-craft Suppression Act. It’s a complicated issue’’ said a teacher who refused to be named for fear of victimisation.
Currently the Witchcraft Suppression Act makes it criminal to label anyone a witch or wizard.
Chief Musampakaruma hired tsikamutandas late last month to expose suspects possessing goblins after nurses were attacked.
Villagers hailed the move to hire tsikamutandas to ‘’clean up witchcraft’’ although Chief Musampakaruma was not available for comment.
Nyaminyami council chief executive officer Isaac Mackenzie confirmed that traditional leaders hired tsikamutanda following complaints by victims of the attacks.
Although tsikamutandas are accused of sowing divisions among families and villagers, in Makande rural their presence is a reprieve.
‘’The attacks on nurses was unwarranted. Nurses are the last line of duty to combat malaria which is common here. Traditional leaders believe hiring of tsikamutandas will clean the area.’’ said Mackenzie.
It could not be independently verified from Hurungwe hospital that covers Makande of recorded malaria related deaths as the officials were out of office. Mashonaland West has had an outbreak of malaria since May.
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from April 2010
Zimbabwe Schoolboy Experiences Bouts With 'Goblin'
A thirteen-year-old Visitation Makumbe High schoolboy cut short his studies in February after he was afflicted by a strange condition that causes him to physically fight an invisible “monster”.
Confirming the boy’s condition, Visitation Makumbe High School resident priest Father Barnabas Mukumba last week said the boy initially complained of stomach pains that were followed by bouts of unconsciousness.
The Form One student was described as intelligent and scored four units in last year’s Grade Seven national examinations.
The school authorities believe that the invisible “monster” could be a “goblin”.
Although the school authorities could not confirm it, the boy’s parents say their child experienced a “transfiguration” on February 10, the night before a major fight with the invisible opponent caused his body to glow.
“The boy would complain of stomach pains that would end in him being unconsciousness. At times he would be taunted by the invisible monster which would force him to scream and use his hands to fight it.
“One could actually see the boy simulating a fight with something or someone we could not see.
“On the first occasion, the boy claimed to have seen a short-bearded man wearing a black cloak. During his initial contact with the invisible creature, he would scream and try to ward off the invisible attacker and we later taught him to pray as a way to fight it off,” said Fr Mukumba.
He said the school authorities initially tried to assist him through psychological counselling until they eventually handed over the matter to the priests for spiritual guidance.
“Together with other priests we took him through spiritual counselling and discernment. I initially suspected the boy was playing tricks so that he could go home and be with his family.
“After further probing we realised the problems were greater than what we had anticipated. We later invited the parents and they then asked us to assist him through prayer and use of holy water,” said Fr Mukumba.
The boy would experience relief after prayers and on realising this, the school authorities arranged for him to stay with the priests.
“On one occasion he screamed during lesson time and said a short old man was trying to forcefully take his pen away. He struggled with his invisible tormentor for some time until he became unconscious.
“He is an intelligent young boy who achieved four units at Grade Seven,” said the deputy school head.
The boy’s father (name withheld to protect the minor’s identity) told The Sunday Mail from his Chitungwiza home that he believed his son had spiritual powers that enabled him to fight goblins.
“The boy is gifted spiritually and that enables him to fight evil spirits. There were numerous reports from his school and we asked the priests to assist him.
“They have been praying for him until February when we decided to withdraw him from school because he was attracting unnecessary attention from the other pupils,” said the boy’s father.
NOTE: these Zimbabwe 'goblin' tales are regular fodder in the local media...very interesting stories though. Lon
Zimbabwe Clinic Nurses Flee 'Goblin' Attacks