Chieftainess Mwenda of the Basanje Tonga speaking people of Chikankata district of Southern province has advised Karavinas who have gone on rampage gunning down people suspected of practicing witcraft in the area to stop the barbaric act with immediate effect.
Chieftainess Mwenda says it is not good to terminate one’s life on suspicion of practicing witchcraft.
In an interview at her palace yesterday, the traditional ruler the unwarranted killings by the Karavinas is an illicit act which need not to be entertained at all cost.
And former Chikankata District Commissioner, Peter Mwiinde,retired said it is in biblical to kill one another on suspicion of practicing witcraft. .
Mr. Mwiinde, locally nicknamed Mr. Shamilimo, said the suspected Karavinas should not be given room to be killing people suspected of having bewitched one another with impunity.
Mr. Mwiinde, however,advised those practicing witcraft also to desist from such evil acts in order not to attract Karavinas.
Reports that Karavinas have gone on rampage gunning down those suspected of practicing witcraft in Chief Cooma, Chief Sinazongwe, Chief Chikanta and Chief Simwatechela chiefdoms, respectively.
The Karavinas, as they are known, can be hired to settle scores as minor as a domestic dispute or a suspicion of witchcraft. They are paid in cash or livestock for the grisly service.
In fact the one shooting other people is the one practicing witchcraft.
As a journalist I will tell you how unbaked our products have become. This report makes it look like its a normal occurrence to kill others in Chief Mwenda’s village. However, such a story does not start and end with the chief and his village. Any duty bound journalist would have gone further, approached the police and got a comment. If people are gunning others down have these cases reached the police station? What are the police doing about it? Have they opened any cases? Any arrests? How many people have been killed in this manner? Is witchcraft the one and only cause for this kind of violence? After these questions have been responded to the story will be a fully baked product and then ready to be disseminated.
By the way are suspected witches being ‘gunned’ down as headline…
Yeah gunned down? Where are the guns from?