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Chief Fortune Charumbira

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
TSIKAMUTANDAS are causing havoc across the country and must be jailed as they are a danger to society, the president of the Chiefs Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira  (pictured), has said.

In an interview with The Chronicle, Chief Charumbira said the tsikamutandas who allegedly accuse villagers of practicing witchcraft and force them to pay cash or livestock for services rendered should be reported to the police.

He said local chiefs must not allow the Tsikamutandas to operate in their areas.

Chief Charumbira said police must arrest the witch hunters as they were ripping off communities.

“Tsikamutandas are a negative development in the country. They are a menace that should be brought to book. I urge affected people to report them to the nearest police station. It is a criminal offence to accuse someone of practicing witchcraft and their acts shouldn’t be encouraged,” he said.

Chief Charumbira said chiefs should not participate in the witch hunting exercises in their areas.

“Chiefs should be the ones who should be taking a lead in protecting their subjects, chiefs should ban tsikamutandas in their villages,” he said.

Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Minister Cain Mathema recently said witch-hunting divides communities, causing unnecessary misunderstandings among the people. He said many of the witch-hunters were charlatans bent on stealing people’s money and livestock.

Meanwhile, Chief Charumbira said the chiefs must not promote child marriages.

“Early child marriage is totally unacceptable. Our culture doesn’t support that and perpetrators should also be arrested,” he said.

@pchitumba1