The ManicaPost
Weekender Reporter
FIVE children who woke up early to go and fetch water in the wake of critical shortages facing Mutare’s Dangamvura high-density suburb were left quacking in their shoes after they bumped into scary suspected underworld creatures on their way back home.
The hard-to-believe incident which happened last week near Chirowakamwe Beerhall has since become the mainstay of public discourse.
Those privy to the case said the children met the creatures at a secluded T-junction around the area and said that the trolls that are linked to witchcraft have troubled many people around the area for a long time.
What makes last week’s incident interesting is the way the gnomes rattled the children who had to flee for dear lives, leaving their water buckets.
The Weekender visited the area and managed to interview one of the children who saw the creatures as well as talking to the councillor of the area who was immediately called to assist soon after the incident.
The girl, whose identity will not be revealed since she is a minor, was at a loss of words to explain the gory events that befell her and her friends.
“We had gone to fetch water and on our way back home at around 3am we met three creatures. The other two looked like hyenas while the other looked like a small baby.
‘‘They were tiny and they began producing scary sounds. Upon sight of these strange things, we dropped our buckets to the ground and sped off to tell others whom we had left behind,” she said.
“We told our friends what we had seen but they did not believe us. We went back to the junction. When we arrived everything was quiet and our friends said there was nothing.
‘‘As we were about to get comfortable, the creatures started producing weird sounds and they suddenly advanced towards us. We bolted from the scene and ran home. We alerted Mbuya Mapuka about the case.
“She took some holy water and salt from home and we proceeded back to the scene. On arrival, Mbuya Mapuka sprinkled the little creatures with the salt and the holy water which was placed in a bottle.
‘‘Each time she sprinkled, the little creatures turned red and they produced some fire from the mouths and eyes.
“We later returned home and went back home, leaving our buckets there.
‘‘At day break we came to collect our buckets but the water was now dirty,” she said.
Ward 15 councillor, Mr Knowmore Nyanhanda said he received a phone call early in the morning from Mbuya Mapuka over the case.
“I received a call and Mbuya Mapuka narrated everything. As a city father I quickly responded to the distress call and I visited the place where the incident occurred.
‘‘From the explanation I got this seemed to be another case linked to witchcraft. Mbuya Mapuka said a lot of people were bumping into the strange creatures at the T-junction,” he said.
As the news of the hair raising incident spread across the suburb, many quickly pointed accusing fingers to nearby business people whom they said were using juju to make a fortune.
Efforts to get a comment from Mbuya Mapuka were fruitless at the time of going to Press as she was said to have gone for prayers at a nearby shrine.
