ZANU PF MP implicated in ritual kidnapping

via ZANU PF MP implicated in ritual kidnapping | SW Radio Africa by Nomalanga Moyo  December 4, 2013

The ZANU PF legislator for Kadoma Central, Fani Phanuel Phiri, has been implicated in a case in which two children were kidnapped for ritual purposes, reports suggest.

According to the Daily News, details of the MP’s alleged involvement emerged during the trial and sentencing of five Kadoma residents, Dominic Musapurwa, Odrina Gwerengwe, Joyce Watyoka, Chipo Muradi, and Kaiser Ncube.

The five told the presiding magistrate that they had received instructions from Phiri to kidnap the two girls who were then taken to a traditional healer so that they could be sacrificed to boost Phiri’s chances of winning the July 31st elections.

However the children were spared after the ‘traditional healer’, identified as Christopher Mudhuchwa, refused to sacrifice them arguing that the accused had stolen the children when the instruction had been that they should bring their own.

The five revealed that rituals were rife during the elections, and were encouraged by named ZANU PF provincial leadership who wanted victory over the MDC-T.

Gwerengwe was jailed for six months, Muradi and Musapurwa  (both aspiring ZANU PF councilors) for six and nine months respectively. Watyoka and Ncube will each serve four years in jail while Mudhuchwa is still at large.

MDC-99 president Job Sikhala said the case was just one example showing that the country is being run by a regime of killers and cultists.

“It is frightening to see that in their insatiable appetite for political power, they will even go to the extent of committing such devilish acts as killing children.

“The implicated legislator is also a former mayor of Kadoma while some of those jailed stood as candidates in the local council elections and this raises serious questions about the kind of leadership we have,” Sikhala said.

The outspoken politician said the police should investigate the Kadoma legislator’s role in the ritual kidnapping as “the allegations are most likely to be true as they were made under oath”.

Sikhala also said he wouldn’t be surprised if the political violence perpetrated by ZANU PF supporters at poll times is part of nation-wide ritual killings by the party.

“Going back to 1980, you see a party that has always believed in killing opposition party supporters to maintain their hold on power,” Sikhala added.

He urged all Zimbabweans to speak out against “such primitive acts of Satanism” that he said were contributing to the daily abuse of children.

Commenting on the Daily News story one reader, who identified himself as Bob, called on ZANU PF deputy president Joice Mujuru to take the lead in denouncing such acts by her party colleagues.

“How can a politician sacrifice the future of innocent children for their political position? Can VP Mujuru please comment? Vana vacheche here baba Mugabe murikuzvinzwa here zvirikuita vanhu ava. Tibatsireiwo please, takakupai mavotes kuti tigare zvakanaka asi honai zvirikuita maparasites (President Mugabe we voted for you so that you could fix things but see what these parasites are doing).

Culturalist Prince Zwide KaLanga Khumalo said anyone who encourages the spilling of human blood as a solution to problems is not a traditional healer.

“In our culture such people are not traditional healers but practice witchcraft which makes them abathakathi (witches and wizards). They upset communities and as such fall on the extreme end of spiritualism and this makes them deviants.

“Traditional healers use traditional medicine and herbs to heal people and advising anyone to kill innocent children or spill innocent blood is not part of traditional healing,” Khumalo said.

He said Zimbabweans should not allow themselves to be hoodwinked by opportunists masquerading as traditional healers and prophets.

“There are numerous social problems being experienced by Zimbabweans and false prophets and healers are capitalising on the desperation of some people by giving them wrong advice.

“This partly explains the surge in ritual rapes and murders, including that of children. But this has never worked for the recipients of such advice but instead, it only aggravates the matters by creating more problems for them.

“It is therefore important that as a people we respect human life and reject any so-called solutions that involve violating the rights of others or upsetting our communities,” Khumalo said.