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Man loses US$85 000 to bogus prophets
By Innocent Ruwende
REGIONAL magistrate Mr William Bhila has rebuked the belief in "stupid superstition" that led a Harare man to surrender US$85 000 realised from the sale of his house, car and property to a pair of bogus prophets.
After convicting Ibrahim Musa Hussein (36) and Innocent Murehwa (36) of fraud, Mr Bhila also chided their victim for believing their claim that an "evil snake" was going to destroy his whole family.
Willard Maseko had approached the two after his daughter died in unclear circumstances and was told the rest of his family was in danger of being wiped out.
They said he must sell his "haunted" property and bring the money to their shrine, which he duly did, but they disappeared with US$85 000.
Mr Bhila said Maseko looked like a "decent man" and he found it surprising that he had fallen for such a scam.
The two were on Thursday slapped with seven-year jail terms each for fraud.
Hussein and Murehwa were jointly charged with Garikai Mareverwa (37) and Persuade Maponga (34) but the latter two were acquitted due to lack of evidence tying them to the crime.
They had all denied the charge when their trial opened.
Mr Bhila suspended two years of the sentences on condition of good behaviour.
A further three years were suspended on condition they each restitute US$22 250 by May 31 this year.
Mr Bhila said such cases were on the rise and a strong message "should be sent to would-be offenders".
He said the duo’s moral blameworthiness was very high as they had taken advantage of a grieving family.
Hussein and Murehwa lied to Maseko that a snake had caused his daughter’s death and if he did not follow their instructions his family would perish.
Prosecutor Mr Dumisani Mthombeni said sometime in May 2008, Maseko’s young daughter passed away and the family decided to consult traditional healers.
Maseko went to Hussein and Murehwa after they had placed an advert in a newspaper marketing their "skills".
At their shrine, he narrated his life history and was asked to tell them what assets he owned.
After that, Maseko was told to speak to a "spirit" called Samanyanga, whose voice would come through a gourd that
was wrapped in strings of beads.
Mareverwa, who was allegedly hiding nearby with a pipe connected to the gourd, started speaking to Maseko, making him believe he was talking to a spirit.
The State said he told him that an "evil spirit" that lived in their house had killed his daughter.
He said the "spirit", which also haunted his property, must be exorcised.
The voice ordered Maseko to sell all his valuables and bring the cash proceeds to the shrine for cleansing.
He told him that the cash would be returned after cleansing and he would be able to start a new life.
After that Hussein and Murehwa went to Maseko’s house with a snake and lied to him that they had removed it from the property.
Maseko and his wife subsequently sold their property and went to the shrine with the cash.
The day after that, his wife was invited to Dzivarasekwa where the pair showed her a basket ful of US dollars and told her that the money had multiplied.
However, the bogus healers disappeared thereafter, prompting Maseko to make a police report.
Hussein was arrested and implicated the others.
In 2006, the now late Mbira musician Edna Chizema — popularly known as "Mbuya Madhuve" — was jailed for three years for swindling a Harare businesswoman of about Z$200 million after masquerading as a traditional healer.
She had persuaded the businesswoman to hire "mermaids" from the United Kingdom and accommodate them in a Harare hotel to help find her stolen luxury car and solve her unspecified "personal problems". |
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