The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Correspondent
THE avenging spirit of a diamond dealer who was murdered by his friends 12 years ago is now demanding a two-tonne truck and a grinding mill as part of its appeasement.
The spirit highlighted that more demands, including some cattle, will be made once the truck and grinding mill are handed over to his family.
It is said the spirit of Welldone Mutangabende of Mararira Farm in Odzi is accusing John Muchinganwa and Willard Kushanya of robbing him of his eight-carat diamond and murdering him before dumping his body in a Chiadzwa mineshaft.
The Mutangabende, Muchinganwa and Kushanya families appeared before Chief Marange’s court last week on Sunday where the spirit demanded that a new two-tonne truck and grinding mill be given to his family as appeasement for his murder.
In an interview with The Weekender, Mutangabende’s younger brother Shingirayi said he was glad that his brother’s spirit was directing its anger on his killers.
“Every interested party was there when the spirit made its demands. Had the spirit told our family members only about its demands, nobody would have believed us. I am sure everyone would have thought that we are greedy and taking advantage of the situation.
“We now wait for the accused people’s families to fulfil these demands,” said Shingirayi, before adding, “He claims that the eight-carat diamond they robbed him was worth that truck and grinding mill.”
A prophet who was being consulted by the Muchinganwa and Kushanya families said the avenging spirit has been tormenting the two families for the past five years, although they have managed to silence it all along.
“They consulted a traditional healer who helped them to silence the spirit (kutsipika) through rituals. The spirit was stored in a gourd. All hell broke loose when the traditional healer died last year,” said Madzibaba Tendai.
Mutangabende died in 2008 at the hands of Muchinganwa and Kushanya.
However, his relatives were made to believe that an illegal diamond mineshaft had crushed him to death.
The true details of his death only emerged last week after the Muchinganwa and Kushanya families of Gonon’ono Village visited the Mutangabendes with the intention of appeasing Mutangabende’s spirit.
Shingirayi said his brother left home for Chiadzwa to pan for diamonds in 2008. Muchinganwa and Kushanya then reported him missing. A search party that included his two friends found his body in a shallow diamond mine with a huge rock on top of it.
It was concluded that the mineshaft had crushed him to death.
