Last week, our nation was privileged to host the landmark World Health Organisation (WHO) Health Summit in Lusaka. During his keynote address, President Hichilema raised an issue that couldn’t easily escape our attention.
“I’m an African who does not believe in witchcraft, I want to tell people to reduce on this and embrace the use of vaccines.”
Such sentiments couldn’t have come at a better time than this one as they resonate with some of us. In this era of computer age, we expected our people to have emancipated themselves from such warped reasoning and backwardness by now! Alas, many of us still see it prudent to visit the witch doctors when we are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS who advise us to defile minors if we are to get cured. When someone dies in the family, we look around for the nearest “gogos or madalas” and attach the tag of wizards who are “eating us” on them! In the place where we come from or in Luapula, there’s still a strong belief that humans can turn in crocodiles to prey on their enemies; honestly…..how long will it have to take for this education we sit in classrooms pursuing to completely erase the witchcraft mentality from our minds?
In 2019 I found myself driving to my home village, Zambezi in the company of a colleague during the proverbial witch hour. As we approached a small town called Mufumbwe, I saw three hyenas transfixed on the middle of the road. I systematically elbowed my friend who had already transitioned into the Dream Land and snoring, spasmodically.
“Are we safe where we are going,” his mumbled. “Someone is trying to bewitch us, stop the car…..”
Nonsense! I pressed the accelerator hard on the floor of the car as my friend protested, vehemently! In no time, the three creatures were scampering in different directions.
As we finally got to Mufumbwe, I pulled up at a layby to deliver a small lecture. I explained to the gentleman we had just driven through what used to be rebel leader, Adamson Mushala’s sanctuary, the Jivundu Game Reserve.
“Before Mushala and of course the poachers wreaked havoc, the reserve was home to a variety of game, including the big five….” I laboured to explain. “What is left now is just small game and the hyenas.”
I was flogging a dead horse, of course; he continued eyeing me incredulously.
Around that period, I was embroiled in a war of words with an uncle who was somehow convinced my aging mother was a wizard hellbent on drinking his precious blood and making choice meat of his flesh, so I could become a Chief…..
Anyway, we made it into Zambezi and came back alive. Bashi Muzo, does this ring a bell?
Our continued belief in witchcraft drives me crazy! Surprisingly, it’s not just the villagers who are still stuck with such stone era beliefs, but even the learned, including the elite in affluent neighborhoods. Even on the impasse regarding the burial of former president Edgar Lungu, it’s shocking to hear his relatives and cadres hallucinating that someone wants to use it for rituals.
If we want to insist witchcraft is real, how come we can’t use it to our advantage ……come up with Earth shattering inventions or even the cure our life debilitating ailments such as HIV/AIDS, cancer or Ebola?
If we can indeed turn into crocodiles to sort out our enemies, what’s stopping us from turning into Lions or pestilent that may bring terror to the world until everyone comes to beg for leniency from us? What about sports…..we are ever the weeping boys at world tournaments; what’s stopping us from using witchcraft to win the world cup? Or witchcraft can only work in the African set up? My foot!
Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst
Zambezi
2 Corinthians 11:14
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
He likes it when people think he doesn’t exist
Imwe na imwe ba Kapinga, witchcraft is for important things like getting into the presidency. Not sports. Yaba!
Yes, whoever believes in Good must know that there is also Evil because God is good and the Devil is Evil.Angels and Demons fight for our souls
And when christianity is added to the soup, what a delightful broth!!!
If you don’t believe in witchcraft, why allowing chameleons in court. You could have stopped it.
Why indeed doesn’t our president live in the grandiose state house? What is he afraid of?
Meanwhile chameleons are brought to court as exhibits and you don’t stop it
Witchcraft only becomes dumb if and when it is working against you.
The chameleon, exhibit number one, was released to Munda Wanga Gardens. Unfortunately, the two wizards are still in court to explain why they wanted to bewitch His Excellency the President. What a shame to one and all. Dumb.
If the president doesn’t believe in witchcraft why prosecute those wanting to be witch him? It’s like saying you don’t believe in adultery but you go hunting for the neighbor you suspect is sleeping with your wife.
The article is so parochial one can see the effects of mental enslavement on the author as much as he tries hard to make us believe otherwise.
Firstly, stop mixing up witchcraft and traditional healing. They are not one and the same. Traditional healing works and has long been embraced by progressive western educated doctors.
“I am an African who doesn’t believe in witchcraft” is a quote designed to bring the attention of the audience to a misbelief that all Africa resorts to witchcraft. And only a few like HH don’t. Such a misunderstanding of Africans can only come from the dumb and uneducated. The brainwashed dumb try to display their transformation into modern society by distancing themselves from Africanness. They will attempt to imitate western behavior like wearing ties and jackets 24/7. Yeah just go listen to Fela Anikulapo singing “Gentleman”.
You fakely educated natives need to know that Modernity and Africans are not enemies! This you will learn from real education. Not a superficial one that leaves you awestruck by western propaganda. Vaccines aren’t anti-African. Progressive modern science works with both. During covid, Western medicine was rejected in its own bastion, yeah in advanced America, yet you want to portray the picture that Africans and their traditions are the antithesis of western medicine. How brainwashed! And driving through the 3 hyenas was a dastardly act. An educated person would have known that they are beasts like any other and in the safety of his vehicle would just have awaited their departure. Yes, an educated man would have known they weren’t going to attack. They don’t and can’t eat cars. But a superficially educated man would instinctively want to address “the witch inside the hyenas” by scaring them with his own scared mentality. By speeding at them you gave the impression you were really scared of the witch in the beasts.
You are incoherent……
FWD2041
Witchcraft is real. Even the word of God acknowledges the fact.
Its funny how people who want to seem educated want to dismiss this reality. And all this inspite of the fact that its a practice that is exploding in the western countries.
Don’t be an idi0t for the sake of trying to seem educated.
Exploding in western countries ????
Where. ???
Only populations in undeveloped countries believe in witchcraft……….
Only in undeveloped countries……this is no coincidence…….
FWD2041
The debate still rages as to what development,cultural or otherwise,means
Spaka I have no time to start explaining to you what is very obvious. But, you go on in your make believe world which tries to deny the reality of the spiritual world.
FYI – celebrities like taylor swift, lady gaga, kat von D have openly spoken about practicing this stuff
Mwata
Of course even in developed countries, there are a few drugged up celebrities who would believe in witchcraft, but on the whole……..
It is only in undeveloped countries where belief in that carp is widespread…….
Only in UNDEVELOPED COUNTRIES
this is no coincidence
FED2041
What is ‘wicca’ in the so-called developed world, which is deeply associated with the commemoration of ‘Halloween’s’ day?
The writer should probably have taken a more humbler approach to the subject before throwing disdain at the African
Imwe ba Spaka open your eyes and see with both of them not only with one: what is Halloween? Witchcraft! and it is celebrated by all western countries and the colonisers even tried selling it to us in Zed but it didn’t trend. You wont condemn it will you?
When a footballer runs on the pitch and points at his head, the center of his chest and shoulders it is not witchcraft becausethe pope does it? But when an African does a makishi dance bfor his team enters the field it’s witchcraft. Dont you know that colonisers’ churches banned African drums only allowing “civilised” instruments like pianos. They suffered from superiority complexes from which you got infected with inferiority complexes. They are manifesting in you and Kapinga
Of “our” ? It’s “your” dumbest belief Mr Kapinga.
SoI wonder why my posts are missing. As we get closer to election time censorship will become a closer companion eh? Ba LT!
Our Witches and Witch Doctors have miserably failed to make any verifiable contributions to modern science. It is all about make believe! Why won’t they hold ‘Witchcraft Fairs’ so they can demonstrate what they can do? It is not possible to cast a spell on anybody? Only physical injury or poisoning can cause problems.
Alas , the PF believed in economic witchcraft with their “more money in your pocket in 90days” promise …which turned into a 10yr economic slowdown .
Hahaha , they say karma knows everyone’s address and PF was no exception.
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