Good luck charms backfire
A Chipinge man temporarily lost his marbles after allegedly receiving good luck charms from a self-proclaimed traditional healer.
Marshall Zengwe (20) from Mandadzaka Compound, also known as Takawira Village, had a three-week bout of mental illness after Samuel Muchayani reportedly gave him good luck charms so that he could pass his 2023 Ordinary Level examinations.
This paper understands that Zengwe was in Form Three when he met Muchayani and was told that he was possessed by some demons that needed cleansing.
Zengwe informed his parents but they refused to sanction his cleansing.
Zengwe later teamed up with his friend, Tatenda Madzvowa, and secretly approached Muchayani for his services.
Said Zengwe’s mother, Patience Sithole: “We never knew that Marshall went ahead and consulted the traditional healer. When he told us about his encounter with Muchayani, we refused to sanction the so-called cleansing.
“We later suspected that he had gone behind our backs after he started exhibiting a violent behaviour. He was losing his mind and would single handedly lift wardrobes and other heavy stuff. He would also lift heavy logs of firewood alone.
“We ended up tying him up with ropes. He was also speaking in foreign and strange languages. When he occasionally regained his senses, he would instruct us to go and give Muchayani a cockerel,” said Sithole.
She said when they approached
Muchayani, he denied any association with Zengwe.
“He later asked us to bring our son to him. He performed some rituals on him and said he had repossessed the luck charms he had given to Marshall. My son was immediately healed from the mental illness he was suffering from and I am grateful for that,” said Sithole.
In an interview, Muchayani denied giving Zengwe any charms.
He claimed that Zengwe was cursed by the watch and money he picked up on the road.
“If his parents are convinced that I had messed up their son’s brains, why did they not drag me to the local traditional leadership? My hands are clean, I am here to serve the community and I have helped a lot of people since my arrival in this area since 2021,” he said.
However, a villager who spoke on condition of anonymity said Muchayani is notorious for giving young people charms to win ladies’ hearts.
“Muchayani has stayed at Roscommon in Chimanimani, Makandi, Maisiri and Gangara Farms in Chipinge. He was evicted because of his juju usage,” said the villager.