Written by Patience Nyangove
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Unsuspecting members of the public are losing money to bogus witchdoctors operating in Windhoek. They claim that they have power to create wealth, reclaim lost love and recover stolen property, make someone win a court case, catch and remove thokoloshis, exorcise evil spirits that bring bad luck and help dull children to pass.
About a fortnight ago a Malawian woman lost N$2,000 to a bogus traditional healer who had promised her a harvest of N$20,000. Instead, the woman was given N$20,000 in fake notes. Efforts to get her money back proved fruitless when the healer started to evade her.
Informanté’s Patience Nyangove met Dr Mukanya who operates from the Single Quarters’ Shanghai Street and Dr Soko based in Greenwell Matongo opposite Kwasa Kwasa.
After arriving at Dr Mukanya’s corrugated metal shack, Informanté joined a mother and her daughter who were seeking medical help for the elder woman’s swollen leg.
This reporter could not help but eavesdrop on the pair’s conversation with Dr Mukanya’s aid who spoke Shona, a vernacular language in Zimbabwe.
The younger woman believing that this reporter was Namibian and could not understand the Shona language, asked the aid what was the purpose of the reporter’s visit, at which he answered that this reporter was greedy and wanted a lot of money.
From the conversation, I derived that it was the woman’s first time to seek Dr Mukanya’s services and she could hardly walk and had sought treatment from other healers but with no help.
After a few minutes a couple that was in consultation with Dr Mukanya left and the pair entered.
Eager to hear the prophesy, Informanté sat close the door on the pretext it was getting too hot where the reporter was seated.
The woman was advised to bring some cooking oil and N$300 dollars in form of N$100 bills as part of the cure. She promised to return on the following day.
Informanté went in and came face to face with Dr Mukanya who was seating on a chair partially obscured by a curtain dividing the room.
He enquired the purpose of the visit, this reporter told him that it was about getting rich.
The “spiritual healer” asked for N$30 consultation fees, which was put on a heap of some brown traditional medicine in plastic papers. After paying, he spoke in some weird language while consulting his small mirror ostensibly prophesying. A few minutes later, he said the reporter’s desires could be accomplished within seven days.
In order to achieve this, the healer said, the reporter had to pay N$1,500 for removing evil spirits hindering her chances of becoming one of Namibia’s richest women.
Although the reporter is not married, Dr Mukanya said she was.
He said there were evil spirits sent by jealousy people who did not want her rich, getting a job or having a happy marriage.
Suppressing a good laugh, the reporter enquired from the “spiritual healer” what action she had to take to get her life moving.
Speaking in some weird language and pointing into his mirror with a small knobkerrie, Dr Mukanya said:
“Every time you and your husband seem to be happy, a misunderstanding arises. I need to cleanse you first of these evil spirits then you can have money, you can get rich and for these services I require N$1,500,” he said.
After promising to return the next day with all the requirements I left.
Informanté also contacted Dr Soko of Greenwell Matongo opposite Kwasa-Kwasa.
Dr Soko’s consultation room, like Dr Mukanya’s was a corrugated room.
Dr Soko told the reporter that if she wanted to be rich, she should buy a tokoloshi that takes from other people.
He also suggested he could give this reporter herbal medicine which would allow her to take money from banks or shops.
Dr Soko said he needed time to consult a miracle performer but said he would roughly require about N$10,000 to make this reporter rich. We parted and promised to call him the next morning but when I did, Dr Soko developed cold feet ostensibly after recognising the Trustco logo on the car the reporter was travelling in.
“I am sorry my sister but I can not help you anymore because the person who was supposed to sell you the tokoloshi or the medicine to get you rich has run out of all those things,” Dr Soko said.
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