Roman Catholic priest’s ghost torments Mutasa family

12 Jan, 2025 - 00:01 0 Views
Roman Catholic priest’s ghost torments Mutasa family What the heck?

THE avenging spirit of Father Matara, a Roman Catholic Church priest murdered in 1971, is allegedly wreaking havoc in the Banhu family of Mutasa, sparking heated debate about the phenomenon of avenging spirits.

The matter, which was brought before Chief Mutasa’s community court recently, has left the local community grappling with the implications of a priest, traditionally revered as a holy figure, returning as an avenging spirit.

Fr Matara, a Roman Catholic priest from Bocha under Chief Marange, was serving at St Barbara’s Mission in Mutasa when he was murdered.

His avenging spirit is allegedly haunting the Banhu family in Mutasa, accusing one of its members, Cosmas, of being responsible for the priest’s murder.

Tongai Banhu brought the matter before the court, accusing his uncles, Tamurazi and Cosmas, as well as Cosmas’ wife, of being responsible for the mysterious occurrences haunting his family.

He testified that the priest’s unsolved murder has remained a dark chapter in the area’s history.

Tongai told the court that since his childhood, his family has been burdened by accusations of being responsible for the priest’s murder.

“Growing up, my family was ostracised and labelled as killers in our community. Even finding love was a challenge, as girls were hesitant to date us.

“However, I eventually got married and started a family. But now, I am facing a new set of problems. Every night, I wake up to find my children sleeping outside, and our home is plagued by bizarre occurrences.

“We were told that it is the avenging spirit of Fr Matara, who was murdered by my uncle,” he said.

Tongai explained that in their search for answers, they consulted prophets and traditional healers, who revealed that his uncle, Cosmas, allegedly possessed a shape-shifting snake that also changes into a chameleon.

According to the healers, this supernatural creature was used to ward off Fr Matara’s avenging spirit.

However, Tongai claimed that despite this revelation, his elderly uncle, Cosmas, refused to join them in consulting traditional healers, insisting that he was not troubled by any spiritual issues.

“We also visited the Matara homestead in Bocha in an effort to make amends for Fr Matara’s death. However, in a surprising turn of events, Chief Marange advised the family members not to sign any agreement without reading it first.

“Despite this warning, my uncle, Cosmas, signed the document, acknowledging his role in the priest’s murder,” Tongai explained.

Cosmas claimed that the avenging spirit was not haunting him, and therefore, he saw no need to seek spiritual intervention.

“We consulted Madzibaba Gutu, a local spiritual leader, and he revealed to us that Cosmas was indeed responsible for Fr Matara’s murder.

However, despite initially admitting to the crime at the Matara homestead in Bocha, Cosmas later denied any involvement in the priest’s death,” he explained.

Cosmas vehemently denied all the allegations, offering an alternate account of events leading up to Father Matara’s murder.

According to Cosmas, he was in Bulawayo at the time and had only returned to his rural home for the holidays when the incident occurred, claiming he was not involved in the priest’s death.

Cosmas presented his account of events to the court, stating: “I was staying in Bulawayo and had returned to my rural home for the holidays.

“I wanted my child to be baptised at St Barbara’s Mission where Fr Matara was stationed.

“Upon arrival, I was informed that Fr Matara was in Rusape, so I returned home, but it was already late. The next morning, Fr Matara was found dead. He was also robbed.

“Police officers came to my homestead inquiring about the time I left the mission, as suspicions arose that I was involved in his murder.”

Cosmas said he and his brother were taken in for questioning by the police, but were later cleared of any wrongdoing.

He vehemently denied the allegations against him, maintaining his innocence in connection with the murder.

“My hands are clean,” Cosmas asserted.

“If I were truly responsible for Fr Matara’s murder, his spirit would haunt my immediate family, not my brothers’ families. I did not kill anyone. It is my brothers’ children who are making these false accusations,” he said.

After hearing both sides, Chief Mutasa adjourned the matter, advising the family to seek spiritual guidance from a traditional healer to help resolve the issue.

Chief Mutasa noted that while the criminal investigation into Fr Matara’s murder had been concluded years ago, the lingering spiritual concerns need to be addressed to bring closure to the affected family. He expressed concerns that approaching Madzibaba Gutu, a local healer who was likely aware of the rumours surrounding the case, could compromise the process.

Instead, Chief Mutasa advised the family to consult neutral healers to ensure a fair and proper resolution.

The family was instructed to consult Sekuru Shungirai Mukotsanjera, a healer from Nyanga, to address the alleged avenging spirit and revert back to the court with feedback.

The family later consulted Sekuru Mukotsanjera, who managed to unravel the avenging spirit mystery, resulting in Cosmas’ confession.

Initially, Fr Matara’s avenging spirit, which was manifesting through a woman, demanded 50 beasts as compensation, but reduced the number to 30 through Sekuru Mukotsanjera’s intercession. — Manica Post

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Tsholotsho man’s quest for instant riches leads to heinous crime

The love of money is the root of all evil!

It makes people do the unthinkable and unimaginable.

All sorts of stories are heard worldwide of people doing all sorts of things just to get money, which sometimes seem like unrealistic methods to acquire wealth.

For the love of instant riches, a 39-year-old unemployed man from Tsholotsho in Matabeleland North province raped a 70-year-old granny on two different occasions on the advice of a sangoma who told him he would become wealthy.

In his sojourn to become rich, Gift Mathe went to a sangoma who told him that in order to amass wealth, he was supposed to rape a granny.

He was also given a charm to sleep on top of it, which was said to make it easier for him to rape his target.

It is reported that on December 1, 2024, at around 1am, Mathe, armed with the charm, went to his target, who is a granny residing in the same village. Upon arrival, he found the victim and her daughter sleeping in a bedroom hut.

The victim was awakened by her daughter, who had seen a torchlight and informed her that there was a man standing near her bed, holding a knife in his hand.

Upon seeing this, the victim and her daughter screamed for help, calling out to neighbours, but Mathe silenced them by threatening to harm them.

Mathe is said to have raped the victim and fled the scene through a window. He is also said to have come back after a few minutes through the same window.

Upon his return, Mathe is said to have slapped the victim on the face and head several times, instructing her to comply.

The victim complied out of fear and he raped her for the second time. He is said to have fled the scene again through the window.

The victim and her daughter, who had positively identified Mathe, went to inform their neighbours about what had transpired at daybreak the following morning. They then reported the matter to the police, leading to the arrest of the perpetrator.

For that crime, Mathe appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Sibonginkosi Mnkandla facing two counts of rape.

He pleaded guilty to both offences.

Mathe was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for each count of rape, making a total of 40 years’ imprisonment for both counts.

While passing the sentence, the magistrate took note of the fact that the accused knew very well what he was doing while committing the offences.

“You used violence in committing the offences. The complainant was severely traumatised by the incidents. It is not acceptable that the young abuse the elders,” she said.

The magistrate said the sentence given to Mathe should send a message to the whole community that such crimes do not go unpunished and make sure the community does not disrespect the law in the future.

In his defence, he confessed that he committed the crime after he went to a sangoma who advised him that if he wanted to become rich, he should sleep with a granny. — B-Metro

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