Fears of witchdoctor’s daughter fail to win refuge in NZ

There was simply no scientific principle underlying any claim of the efficacy or power of sorcery. NZ Immigration decision

The daughter of a Zimbabwean witchdoctor has been declined refugee status in New Zealand despite her fears that she’ll be forced to take his place if she returns home.

The woman said if she returned to Zimbabwe her late father’s tribe could use sorcery to force her to become the next witchdoctor.

She would have to undergo female genital mutilation and be made to carry it out on other young girls in the tribe as part of her duties.

But the New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal has rejected her bid to stay here, saying there was no evidence witchcraft could be used against her if she returned.

The details were laid out in a recently-released tribunal decision.

The woman’s mother fell pregnant at 17 to the witchdoctor of another tribe who lived about 250km away.

When her parents found out about the pregnancy, they took her to the man’s tribe and demanded he take care of her, as custom dictated.

But the mother was unhappy as he and his family were abusive to her and she was made to do chores for the man’s witchcraft practice — including slaughtering animals and accompanying young children to circumcision ceremonies.

She saw young girls with serious post-circumcision infections and other young girls being forced into marriage at a young age, the tribunal decision said.

She eventually fled back to her home village and remained there, giving birth to her child in 1992.

In February 2016, the mother heard the witchdoctor had died, and decided she and her daughter should attend the funeral.

“Villagers who were gathered for the funerary events were surprised and confused to see them, until one woman recognised [the mother] and introduced them to everyone.

The pair spent the night at the village, and were told the next morning that the spirit of the woman’s father was now “upon her”. They did not think much of the comments and departed a short time later.

That same month, the daughter, then in her 20s, married a trader she had met in the capital city of Harare. By May, the pair and their son had travelled to New Zealand on false South African passports, and sought refugee or protected person status.

The woman gave birth to another son in August that year, while detained in community accommodation.

Their initial appeals for refugee status pointed to political troubles for the husband, and were dismissed as not credible.

Her husband’s application now focuses on other factors such as debt he owes back in Zimbabwe.

In 2017, members of the tribe told the woman’s mother the witchdoctor’s eldest child must return home and take his place.

They said many people had died since his death, and that a spirit had possessed one of their members and announced the woman must be the village’s next witchdoctor.

The tribunal found there was “simply no scientific principle underlying any claim of the efficacy or power of sorcery”.

There was also no evidence of any real risk she would suffer serious harm or that she would be physically forced into the role, the decision said in dismissing the appeals.