The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
A BIZARRE occurrence in which a Rusape family is being pelted by fiery stones, and had their grass thatched hut gutted by fire ignited by invisible arsonist — is beyond the realm of what Science can expound.
The stranger than fiction occurrence, which left the Chikwara family without food and roof over their head, perhaps proves that Science indeed has a definite limit.
The Chikwaras stay at Zimati, about 10km on the outskirts of Rusape.
This account may sound twaddle, but it is true, and the longer it takes for the haunted family to find lasting solution, the higher are the chances of the attacks degenerating into a mortal threat.
The huts and goat pen were vandalised by strange fires.
Scars of burns and of being pelted by stones were equally visible on family members, whose narrations were both hair splitting and spine chilling.
Strangely, the fires started during supper, and destroyed everything in minutes as if an inflammable substance was used.
The mystical stones stop when an outsider visits the troubled family, but are almost a daily occurrence.
The intricate details, as explained by Mr Hebert Chikwara is not for the faint-hearted.
Distraught and dejected, Mr Chikwara admitted defeat at the hands of the invisible assailants.
“The problem that befell my family is torturous and incomprehensible. My family is traumatised. We have not known peace for a month now. It is trouble after trouble,” he said with difficulty.
An ardent member and self-claimed prophet of a local apostolic sect, Mr Chikwara said the strange occurrences started recently — with human waste wrapped in plastic strewn all over his shrine (kirawa).
An attempt to investigate the person responsible drew blanks.
Things took a nasty turn when the human waste found its way into buckets containing the family’s drinking water.
On August 21, the family was left weak-kneed after a strange fire torched a goat pen and a grass thatched bedroom.
Food, clothes, blankets and cooking utensils were incinerated in the inferno.
Faced with the overwhelming situation, the Chikwaras sought spiritual help.
The visits ameliorated the attacks, and on Tuesday this week, Mr Chikwara could not stand it.
He sought refuge at a friend’s place in Magamba suburb, Rusape.
The spiritualist he consulted alleged that a frustrated goblin (chikwambo), cast upon them by a bloodline relative after getting fed up with it, was behind the havoc.
“The problem I am confronted with is enormous. As we speak, my family is being pelted with stones, but we cannot see the person throwing them. Since we cannot see the source of the stones, we cannot evade the stones. We cannot hide or run away. Even when we are in the house, the stones keep raining.
“It is awkward, and neither do we understand it. But this is our predicament. I am at loss of both words and ideas. It is the work of a close enemy. It started with human waste strewn all over my shrine. This would happen during every prayer session. Then the human waste found its way into water buckets,” said Mr Chiwara.
Mr Chiwara said his family was left without food and roof over its head.
“The fire first reduced the goat pen to ashes. We laboured to douse the inferno, but all our efforts were in vain. We could not see the arsonist. On August 21, our bedroom was gutted by a vicious fire. Nothing could be retrieved from the burning hut. It started while we were having supper.
“We could not do anything. I was injured as I tried to salvage a few things from the house. I am appealing for help because all the food, blankets and clothes were destroyed by the fire,” he said.
The self-proclaimed prophet also appealed for spiritual cleansing of his homestead to restore sanity.
“From what we have been told by those we consulted, these problems are being caused by a goblin. A relative planted it here to fix me. It is all about bad blood in the family. This relative was given a wealth enhancing goblin and now he is fed up with it. They are trying to get rid of it through my family, which is cruel.
“I am appealing to those with spiritual powers to help cleanse my homestead, remove and send the goblin back to its owner. This has torn my family apart. My wife and kid had to find alternative accommodation elsewhere. I am alone here, and I am still being attacked. I cannot allow them to move back because it is still dangerous,” said Mr Chikwara.
Mr Chikwara’s friend, who refused to be named, said: “I was at the homestead on Sunday, it was a scary sight. The family is traumatised and in dire need of material and psycho-social support,” he said.
Mr Chikwara hails from Bwizi area in Bocha under Chief Marange.
He relocated to Zimati area, which is 10km from Rusape, a few years ago.
Efforts to get a comment from Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers’ Association (Zinatha) president, Mr George Kandiero were fruitless as his mobile number was unreachable.
However, Madzibaba Nzira, of Zvakazarurwa Zvavapostora Church, said such attacks are inflicted by goblins.
“Someone in the family has a goblin. Someone sourced these things for whatever reasons, but failed to abide by the attached conditions, thereby infuriating them. That is why they are being attacked.
“They need to enlist the services of prophets to cleanse the homestead. Those things that are hurling stones can be detected in the spiritual realm. They can be destroyed or send back to the sender to restore sanity in the trouble family,” said Madzibaba Nzira.
