A VILLAGE head in Esigodini, Matabeleland South has dragged Chief Zephaniah Sigola to court on allegations that the chief suspended him following his refusal to be vetted by witch hunters popularly known as tsikamutandas.
BY SILAS NKALA
Chief Sigola reportedly engaged the witch hunters after a child disappeared in the area last year in an incident suspected to be associated with witchcraft.
Witch hunters invaded the area and allegedly called all villagers to the screening proceedings in which a suspected witch, with a hand in the child’s disappearance was expected to be exposed.
The missing child is yet to be found and the tsikamutandas reportedly charged villagers $400 or a beast as payment for their services.
Village head, Wilson Khumalo, reportedly refused to be vetted by the tsikamutandas prompting the chief to suspend him.
Following his suspension, Khumalo engaged a lawyer, Abedinico Ndebele of Mathonsi Law Chambers, who filed an appeal against the suspension at the Esigodini magistrate court. “The appeal will be heard by Esigodini magistrate tomorrow (today). Khumalo’s suspension is illegal,” he said.
Chief Sigola alleged Khumalo was not working well with him by refusing to be vetted.
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The chief also alleged Khumalo insulted him, saying he is uneducated.
Ndebele said the allegations against his client emanated from his refusal to be vetted by tsikamutandas, who were operating illegal.
On June 13, Khumalo was dragged before Chief Sigola’s court by Elliot Ngwenya and members of the Ntshamathe village assembly on charges of illegally resettling people and compiling names of late village heads’ children to submit them to the district administrator, so that they get paid as substantive village heads without the chief’s knowledge.
Khumalo pleaded not guilty to allocating land illegally and admitted the second charge of compiling names of late village heads’ children, saying he was advised to do so by a Maseko, who works at the district administrator’s office to do so, to allow them to succeed their late parents.
Chief Sigola, assisted by assessors Juda Moyo and Jokoniah Nkomo, ruled on June 13 that Khumalo was not guilty of allocating land, but was guilty of compiling names of the village head’s children without the chief’s knowledge.
He was find a beast or $300 plus two goats or pay $15 not later than June 30.
