Times Of Swaziland: I'm a witch '¦ no I am not'

I'm a witch '¦ no I am not'
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MFANUKHONA NKAMBULE on 31/03/2013 00:00:00


SIPHOFANENI –The man  you see in the picture admitted in court that he was a
witch who could burn people’s property with a mysterious fire known as lubane.
As a result of his admission or confession to practising witchcraft, Siteki
Magistrate Joseph Dlamini fined Eric Mtshelele Mdvoti E1 000 or two years
imprisonment. He was convicted of contravening the Crimes Act of 1889 (Chapter 4
– Witchcraft).
The magistrate could have sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment if he had
invoked Section 79 without leniency. The section reads: "Any person who, on the
advice of a witchdo-ctor or his pretended knowledge of witchcraft and with
intent to injure, uses or causes to be put into operation such means or
processes as he believes to be calculated to injure any person or property shall
be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of  E1 000 or
imprisonment not exceeding 10 years."
The Times SUNDAY visited Gucuka near Siphofaneni to interview the man who was so
bold that he admitted practising witchcraft. Mdvoti (45) confirmed to this
newspaper that he actually admitted to Magistrate Dlamini that he used lubane to
burn Ntjege Mamba’s three-bedroom house at Gucuka on March 17, 2013. Mamba
(63) is a headman of this community.
A bedroom, kitchen, clothes and wedding gifts (umhlambiso) belonging to
Mamba’s wife were damaged.
The bed, textbooks for school going children and the wedding gifts were reduced
to ashes. Electric cables were also burnt. Giving an account of this, Mdvoti
said his admission of guilt to the magistrate was caused by the fact that he
feared the police after allegedly being tortured during interrogation. He
claimed he was tormented until he soiled himself.  He alleged that the police
induced confession by suffocating him with a tube after he had vehemently denied
sending mysterious fire to Mamba’s home. He said the only thing he did was
scare Sifiso Mavimbela (37) and other community members who rushed to Mamba’s
home to extinguish the fire. He said he talked badly and "that was his only
sin."
He admitted that he left Mavimbela trembling with fear after telling him that he
would burn his manhood with lubane and cause him to be paralysed on the right
shoulder for leading a community rescue team that helped Mamba put out the fire.
 He said he scared them by saying he had caused the fire and pretended to be
angry with them for putting it out. Mavimbela and frightened community members
reported him to Mamba.
It was then that the victim reported the matter to the police.
"I was just frightening them. I wasn’t serious with my words because I don’t
have lubane and where do you think a poor man like me can get it when I don’t
even have food?" he said.
He admitted that he did not see eye to eye with Mamba.  He said there was no
reason to sympathise with him.
Mamba is the governor of the area while Mdvoti is the water project overseer and
plumber.
It is said that the community runs out of water when Mdvoti is angry.
Community members say he refuses to attend to water leaks and pipe bursts;
forcing the governor’s family and community at large to draw water from nearby
streams.  The headman said he was aware of allegations that he was full of
himself and looked down upon Mdvoti.
He denied all these allegations; saying he was a down-to-earth man who respected
other people.  After making careless comments, he was fetched from home by the
police for questioning.
He was made to write a statement, which, he was sternly warned not to deviate
from in court. Fearing for his life, Mdvoti said, he did as instructed. Asked
why he did not tell the magistrate that he recorded the statement under duress
as a result of police torture, he said he feared that the police would have
tortured him again. He said he would have liked to meet the complainant (Mamba)
in court but he was not there. "I wanted him to tell the court if he saw me
burning his home down with lubane," he said.
He said he did not have the money to pay the fine when the magistrate sentenced
him but sympathetic community members came together and paid it. In his home
area now, no one wants to talk openly or badly about Mdvoti since they believe
he has supernatural powers.
A woman the news team offered a lift to, so that she could give directions to
Mdvoti’s home did not want him or his family to see her getting off the Times
SUNDAY’s car.
Inspector Khulani Mamba, Police Deputy Public Relations Officer (PRO), said
police could no longer comment on a case that had been decided by a magistrate,
especially because Mdvoti made a confession, on his own volition, before the
honourable court.