Witchdoctor's flying bowl causes riots
Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Monday July 7, 2014 06:59
Gossip mongers had gathered at a certain Mma Tonkana’s yard where the witchdoctor, notorious for his flying bowl divination, Paul Saserere had camped during his search for a missing Isuzu Van computer box belonging to a certain Mudongo who had decided to enlist the services of the flying bowl witchdoctor to track his missing items.
Trouble erupted when the flying bowl in the hands of the diviner threw the witchdoctor into a trance as it dragged him through the multitudes who had gathered at the yard for the spectacle. The witchdoctor fell on a couple of spectators who did not take kindly to the antics and gave him a beating as he tried to use his divination powers to locate the thief.
Matters got even more heated when the matriarch of the homestead, a certain Matonkana arrived home from her Metsimotlhabe trip to find multitudes jammed in her compound. She accused the witchdoctor of trespassing, as the mob joined in.
The wife to the man who enlisted the services of the witchdoctor was also beaten up by the mob, before riot police appeared on the scene and dispersed the crowd with a few gun shots before loading the suspect, a young boy, the witchdoctor, the complainant and a hosts of gossip mongers into the van and off to Mogoditshane Police Station for questioning.
At the police station Mudongo narrated how after realising that his Isuzu van had been stripped of its computer box and a door, enlisted the services of the divination bowl which led the search party to Mmatonkana’s yard.
Mudongo also sighted a young boy there as the prime suspect after the witchdoctor revealed that the young man and two others were responsible for the theft of the car parts.
The witchdoctor, who hails from Nxamasere in Ngamiland District, however, claims that while doing his divination on Saturday he was actually in the company of the police, stating that two CID officers accompanied him during the search.
“Mapodise ba a ntirisa mo Mogoditshane mo, ebile ba kile ba nthaa ba re batla nneela uniform gore kenne lepodise jaanong (Mogoditshane police use my services a lot, they have even flattered me that one day they will make me a full-fledged police officer).
“Nkile ka batla motho a timetse le mapodise (The police even engaged me to look for a missing person). I once uncovered P98,000 cash in Gantsi. My house is always teeming with people looking for my services from all over Botswana,” he narrated.
Interestingly the police did not charge the witchdoctor with inciting riots. He was released. Mmatonkana, however, did not hide her anger with both the police and the witchdoctor.