Police have arrested two self-styled prophets following the death of a Harare woman while they were exorcising evil spirits out of her.
The woman died of severe burns after the prophets made her cover her face with a blanket under hot water mixed with herbs. Police said in a statement:
Two self-styled prophets and a traditional healer have been arrested in Harare following the death of a 44-year-old woman whom they were “treating”.
The victim complained of a headache and was referred to the 2 prophets for assistance to no avail.
She was then referred to the self-styled traditional healer in Epworth who concluded that she was being attacked by evil spirits.
In order to cleanse the spirits, he mixed some herbs and boiling water and made the victim cover herself with a blanket (kufukira) and the suspects tightly held the blanket and the victim sustained serious facial burns.She later passed on whilst admitted at a local hospital.
In Zimbabwe, reports of people who die during exorcisms at the hands of self-styled prophets whose activities are not regulated by the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) are common.
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