The Sunday Mail
Courtney Munodawafa and Nyasha Bvudzijena
TWO Domboshava siblings are literally at each other’s throat, battling for ownership of a “money spinning” snake they reportedly acquired from an Epworth-based traditional healer a couple of years ago.
The brawl came to light after the sister, Sesu Mukumbatwa, approached the courts seeking a protection order against her brother, Tobias Mukumbatwa, and her nephew, Lovemore Mukumbatwa.
Sesu told the court that Tobias is in the habit of visiting her home and harassing her.
“He comes in the company of Lovemore, accusing me of being a witch and threatening to kill me. He is not even bothered with my threats to report him to the police,” she said.
Sesu further added that her brother was a highly unstable character — a fact that she said can easily be proven by his five failed marriages.
“Lovemore is my nephew and I practically raised him. It is in this very recent past that he has turned against me. He claims that I want to kill him,” she said.
However, Tobias’ account left the court shocked.
He said the only source of their conflict was a lucky charm (snake) that his sister is refusing to let go.
“My sister and I used to be very close. We would travel and do most things together. We went many places and ended up in Epworth where we got some juju that has now turned into a snake.
“The juju was supposed to make my brickmaking business flourish by bringing in customers, but it has, in turn, brought misery,” revealed Tobias.
He said there was a point when the juju seemed to work.
After allegedly suffering a series of misfortune because of the juju, he approached members of a certain apostolic sect who advised him to bring the snake in question, the court heard.
His sister allegedly refused to let go the supposed charm.
“I have since vacated my place of residence because the snake comes at night and sleeps on the bed. At some point, the snake was intimate with my wife only for her to wake up thinking it was me,” Tobias told the court.
“My sister is the one who convinced me to get juju. We went to Epworth where a traditional healer gave us a specific juju known as ‘mukoki’ which would entice customers for me. We got the juju at a river and my son, Lovemore, was there. He saw the snake in the water but the traditional healer told him to ignore everything,” he revealed.
Tobias, a member of Gule Wamukulu, blames the snake for his matrimonial woes.
“The snake is such a menace. Whenever I marry I constantly fight with my wife or my son has issues with her to the extent that she ends up leaving me. A number of women have left me so far,” he highlighted.
“My current wife would feel the snake and tell me about it. However, I often quickly dismissed her since I knew what was happening. She can feel the snake but is unable to see it. It (snake) comes every night with the intention of sleeping with her,” he adds.
The wife has since sought assistance from both apostolic sect members and traditional healers.
Lovemore also gave legs to the seemingly tall tale.
“My aunt (Sesu) was in the habit of using me as cheap labour but that stopped after I got married. She was not happy, though.
“I have not seen the snake yet at home but we would hear it on the roof whenever we were at my father’s place. My wife said she once saw it on the roof. But I can confirm I once saw it when we went for some rituals at the river,” said Lovemore.
Sesu denies ever consulting a traditional healer or possessing juju.
“I have never been to a traditional healer in search of a lucky charm. We did go to a river but it was for a ritual since it was believed that my sister was possessed with the spirit of a mermaid. My nephew did see a snake but every family member was present not just brother.
“However, a spirit medium told us that Tobias conducted rituals with the intention of amassing wealth and has a deceased wife because of the actions. He thinks I am a witch because I have a better life than his. I built the house I have using money I got from husband’s NSSA pension,” revealed Sesu.
Resident magistrate Gladys Moyo granted the peace order in Sesu’s favour.
