Ngoni Dapira

MOTORISTS and pedestrians in Mutare were this morning (Monday) shocked and left petrified when they woke up to find a mysterious clay pot, known as a pfuko in Shona language, placed at the centre of the Vumba Road and Park Road interlinking T-junction in the Nyakamete Industrial area, which is usually a busy traffic route in and out of town.

The mysterious clay pot with the traditional African dagger (bakatwa).

The clay pot which had a suspicious African traditional dagger (bakatwa) on top of it was placed at the middle of the T-intersection where Vumba Road and Park Road cross. Motorists avoided running over it and breaking it mostly due to fears of African traditional and cultural beliefs when it comes to such traditional objects.

In African culture it is believed to be a bad omen to break a clay pot, which explains why most people feared running over it. The African traditional dagger made it even more suspicious to the extent that people dreaded touching it, let alone removing it from the road. Regardless of the busy morning rush traffic between 7am to 8am where most people will be doing their school runs and rushing to work, motorists and pedestrians that stumbled across the clay pot nonetheless avoided disturbing it by all means.

It was only around past 9am that a daring prophet came to the rescue, Madzibaba Norman Mavhurudza of Kupenya Apostolic Church. He removed the clay pot and placed it on the roadside. Madzibaba Mavhurudza who was coming from Mutare Board and Paper Mill which is next to to the intersection said he just saw people crowded at the intersection spectating at motorists restlessly evading knocking down the mysterious clay pot, which is what prompted him to do something as a man of God.

“Even haulage truck drivers were avoiding driving over the clay pot, carefully navigating past it by all means. So I instantly decided to assist as a prophet and I removed it from the road and placed it on the roadside for the safe passage of motorists and pedestrians,” said Madzibaba Mavhurudza in a telephone interview.

By the time Easterntimes arrived at the scene around 11am, people had dispersed but amongst the informal workers that often mill around the T-intersection area waiting for piece jobs, the main chatter was still about the strange clay pot. Some were daring each other to break the clay pot if anyone was man enough.

The clay pot (under the shrub) after being moved to the roadside by Madzibaba Mavhurudza. Motorists were now able to freely drive past the intersection.

An airtime vendor who normally trades at the junction told this reporter that he had been there since early morning around 6am but no one had gathered the courage to remove the clay pot besides the prophet. “Motorists were just driving past it giving each other way and pedestrians just stopped to take pictures and move on minding their own business. It was just this prophet who came and decided to remove it for the sake of the people’s safety and safe passage of motorists,” said the airtime vendor who refused to disclose his name.

The pot was placed on the roadside with the dagger still on top. Inside the clay pot there was snuff (bute) and something like sand mixed with what appeared to be like sorghum grains. Some also alleged there was a US$50 note, but by the time this reporter came there was no money. The clay pot was also believed to have been placed in the evening on Sunday as some motorists claimed to had seen it around 10pm.

Easterntimes however managed to get the contact details of Madzibaba Mavhurudza and had a telephone interview in the afternoon around 2pm.  He confirmed that he had removed the clay pot from the road. He said he believed he had been led by the spirit to be at the right place at the right time. “Whoever put those things, this is linked to satanism and that person wants blood to be shed through road accidents. That bakatwa (African traditional dagger) is associated with death and killing in traditional rituals, so I believe that ritual was for appeasement through fatal road accidents which would claim mass deaths. Whoever would have drove over or knocked down the clay pot would attract a bad omen. However, through God’s intervention I was there to help,” he said.

Adding, “However, what I did was just to remove the clay pot for the safe passage of people and motorists, but not a back to sender sacrament,” said Madzibaba Mavhurudza.

ZINATHA president George Kandiero

In a telephone interview with the Zimbabwe Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) president George Kandiero he said usually when such a ritual is done at a road intersection, it is meant to cast out or appease some evil spirits tormenting someone or a family. He said it can also be a ritual to shed innocent blood in order to appease goblins that one would have got for wealth accumulation.

“Unfortunately, when such rituals are done, they will affect members of the public that innocently run over the objects not knowing the consequences. It is sad that in Zimbabwe we currently now have many rivers and forests seriously polluted with various objects used for such rituals.  Something has to be done to prohibit such acts. As ZINATHA we intend to work with authorities such as the Environment Management Authority (EMA) to apprehend perpetrators and teach people about the proper ways of doing things whether through traditional healers or through prophets,” said Kandiero.

He said there are other ways of casting out evil spirits or appeasing them that do not lead to harming innocent people. “This is what we are encouraging ZINATHA affiliated traditional healers to do. In rural areas, traditional healers go through the traditional leadership. They are given ideal places to perform their spiritual rituals. This has been the norm since time immemorial. By so dong this safeguards innocent people from being victims,” said the ZINATHA president.

In the case of that clay pot in Nyakamete, Kandiero said it will require a traditional healer or prophet that really knows about such rituals to completely undo the rite, otherwise it may be dangerous if an inexperienced person attempts to dispose of the objects.

However, by the time of going to press end of day the clay pot was still by the roadside untouched.