Times Of Swaziland: MOB ATTACKS GOGO ON  WITCHCRAFT ALLEGATIONS

MOB ATTACKS GOGO ON  WITCHCRAFT ALLEGATIONS
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 BY LINDA JELE on 08/01/2014 01:36:00


MADLANGEMPISI – An old woman was lucky to survive a mob attack after she was
allegedly found loitering at a neighbour’s homestead at night.
This has left the Madlangempisi community rocked by witchcraft fears.
The old woman, known to this publication but will not be named pending
investigations by the community, was allegedly found at a Magongo homestead.
According to an informed source, Gogo *Mahambakancane was found at around 10pm
wearing a huge coat and carrying something on her back pockets filled with an
unknown substance.
The source said the old woman was seen by three men who had been seated near the
Magongo homestead on Sunday night.
When they confronted her, she did not give a satisfactory reason on why she was
at the Magongo homestead.
The three men raised an alarm and woke up members of the Magongo family as well
as neighbours.
She was manhandled during the questioning and the prompt arrival of the police
saved what could have been a nasty situation.
“When she was confronted, she simply said she had been lost.
“What was confusing was that she was not drunk, and the gate leading to her
homestead does not have corrugated iron sheets like that of the Magongo
homestead.
“Secondly, there is electricity at the Magongo homestead and the lights were
on.
“There is no electricity connection at her home,” the source said.
The source said the woman attempted to run away but the mob caught up with her.
The old woman is alleged to have claimed that she was coming from church.
The source said she asked to be released because she wanted to go and cook
supper.
“When the police arrived, she did not want to talk to them.
“She simply sat down and did not respond to any of their questions,” the
source said.
About 40 residents on Monday afternoon convened a meeting to deliberate on the
matter.
However, Gogo Mahambakancane was not present. The meeting was told that she had
left her homestead earlier on the day.
When a journalist from this publication joined the meeting, he was asked to
excuse the residents.
The residents felt that the matter was still a community issue.
“It would be improper for now to publicise the matter because we have not yet
reported it to the chief. This may also ruin the community’s reputation
further,” one of the residents said.
According to Bahlobisile Magongo, a family member,  the meeting had decided that
the matter should be reported to the Madlangempisi Royal Kraal.
The area’s headman, only identified as Maseko, said he had not been informed
of the matter yet.
Meanwhile Magongo said they were told to go back to the royal kraal later
yesterday to meet the relevant authorities.
*Not her real name