Three serious accidents, no scratch The mystic world of mermaids
MURAMBINDA Growth Point, which is located in Buhera, Manicaland, is one of the country’s fastest growing urban centres.
The sprawling settlement, which is working towards attaining town status, is one of the two designated urban areas in Buhera district, the other one being Birchenough Bridge.
A yesteryear hit song by the late Paul Mpofu, titled “Murambinda”, helped to a greater extent put the normally sleepy urban settlement onto the spotlight.
But apart from the song and its development, Murambinda has of late been a major talking point following a road accident which recently claimed the lives of 16 passengers.
Although the horror crash that involved a commuter omnibus and a haulage truck occurred some kilometres away along the Chivhu/Masvingo highway in Featherstone, it reminded Murambinda residents of two other serious accidents that they can easily relate to.
The Featherstone accident happened barely five months after a Murambinda woman had been involved in two other serious road accidents — one in Musina, South Africa and the other one on the Harare/Beitbridge highway, resulting in more than 30 people losing their lives.
While other passengers lost their lives, some were seriously injured. However, the Murambinda woman came out of all the three calamities unscathed.
As word of the unfortunate woman began to spread, some members of the local community began accusing her of being a member of a satanic cult, which was widely believed to be causing the accidents.
Questions were raised on how the woman, a cross-border vendor, had been involved in the serious accidents.
Many wonder how the woman escaped unhurt in three separate accidents despite the serious nature of the crashes.
Conversely, some members of the Murambinda community are sympathising with her, arguing that the woman has just been finding herself at the wrong place and at the wrong time
ree months after the recent accident, Murambinda residents are still questioning the woman’s involvement in the accidents.
Sekuru Friday Chisanyu, a traditional healer, struggled to explain this unusual phenomenon.
“Such cases are rare and can be attributed to two factors. It’s either this woman is part of a satanic cult or she was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. In my view, her ancestors came to her rescue and saved her life,” he said.
According to the traditional healer, during the war of liberation there were similar instances when freedom fighters escaped death in mysterious circumstances.
“We have fighters who miraculously survived when they were ambushed by enemy forces. In one such incident, one fighter somehow managed to dodge a hail of bullets. We will never understand this phenomenon if we try to use common sense,” explained Sekuru Chisanyu.
In scientific terms, the law of probability can WHILE mythical creatures like mermaids (njuzu) are usually the stuff of legends, in most communities where they have been sighted, people swear about the existence of these creepy creatures. lt is said mermaids come in different forms. From seductive sirens and benevolent protectors of the inland waters to shy and self-contained things only seen fleetingly.
On the flipside, they are said to be vicious monsters that can best be described as evil.
In areas like Manicaland and Midlands, mermaids are considered to be far from being mere legend.
In 2012 in a strikingly stranger than fiction scenario, work that was being carried out at Gwehava Dam in Gokwe and the Osborne Dam in Manicaland had to be suspended as workers refused to report for duty.
They all claimed that they were being terrorised by mermaids that were prowling the dam sites during their work time.
The workers, who were supposed to do repairs and install water pumps, became even more frightened when some people mysteriously vanished while others reported attacks.
While the workers were adamant that they were seeing mermaids, skeptics suggested that the dam workers’ problems were being caused by a mixture of superstitions, optical illusions and dangerous water currents.
A white worker, whose services had been enlisted on the projects, also claimed that he had spotted the mythical creatures. He flatly refused to return to the sites.
Progress on the projects stalled to the extent that the then Minister of Water Resources Development and Management, Sipepa Nkomo, had to explain the predicament in the House of Assembly.
Consequently, matters were taken to another level.
Government officials summoned some chiefs and made arrangements for them to perform rituals to appease the creatures.
Without a shred of doubt, the traditional officials acknowledged the creatures’ existence.
They claimed that many lakes and water
be applied in this case.
Probability is a measure quantifying the likelihood of an event occuring.
Was the Murambinda woman, on three separate occasions, at the wrong place and time?
Sadly, the woman, who has since relocated, could not give her side of the story. reservoirs are home to mermaids.
But huge dams seem to be the creatures’ favourite place of residence, with several sightings having been reported in Lake Kariba.
Traditionalist and president of the Zimbabwe National Practitioners Association, Sekuru Friday Chisanyu, said mermaids exist.
“As a custodian of the traditional culture, I have no doubt about their existence. Disputing this is like disputing yourself.”
If these creatures are real, are they in the physical or spiritual form?
Whenever they are depicted, why are they always white? .
Why are most of their supposed victims always blacks?
Whether these things are stranger than fiction, or too strange to be fiction, they have a fair share of space in creepy urban legends.
Could mermaids be mystical creatures or real life beings?
While there might not be a definite way of knowing the correct answers to these questions, you can let us know your thoughts.
We will probably never know what she attributes these strange occurances to.
As of now, what we know for sure is that we have an unsolved mystery and a bizarre story that awaits a logical conclusion.