The three people recently found dead at Bata Farm in Bindura were allegedly poisoned by two traditional healers they had consulted to perform money-making rituals. The trio was later strangled to death at the dam, the court heard yesterday.
Traditional healer Isaac Biningu (37) and his accomplice
Wilbert Vheremu who is on the run, wanted to recover a sandawana (tokoloshi)
and an undisclosed sum of money for the rituals, prosecutor Mr Clement Kuwanda
told the court.
The deceased are Medio Kashiri, Petros Mwale and Antony
Murombo Ndawana. Biningu appeared before provincial magistrate Mr Tinashe
Ndokera on Monday facing murder and escaping from lawful custody charges. He
appeared in court on a stretcher bed due to injuries sustained after jumping
from a moving police vehicle in a bid to flee.
He was remanded in custody to May 27. Biningu is from
Chikonamombe Village under Chief Madziwa.
Mr Kuwanda said Kashiri and Ndawana first encountered
Biningu and Vheremu at a house in Unit L, Seke, in Chitungwiza while performing
money-making rituals.
However, Mwale had known the sangoma since 2020. The trio
allegedly engaged the sangomas and were advised that the rituals would be
conducted at Biningu’s homestead in Madziwa.
The court heard that on April 23 this year at around 9am,
Kashiri drove a Honda CRV registration number ABR 6239 to Madziwa in the
company of Ndawana and Mwale.
The parties met at Biningu’s homestead and the following
day at around 8am, the sangomas invited the trio into a spare bedroom where
they were sold a sandawana before commencing the first session of the
money-making ritual.
It is alleged that several rituals were conducted and the
last session payment for the services were to be done under a Muhacha tree away
from the homestead.
At around 8pm, Biningu invited the trio into his Toyota
Corolla ZS registration number ABL 6133 while Vheremu took charge of Kashiri’s
Honda CRV.
The court heard that they drove to Bata Farm where the
sangomas allegedly laced opaque beer with poison and a concoction containing
Boophone Disticha (mudzepete).
The pair administered the concoction to the trio before
strangling them to death and dumping their bodies, and repossessing their
sandawana and money for the ritual. It is alleged the sangomas then parked the
Honda CRV nearby.
The court heard that the pair went into hiding and
relocated to Chisoko Village in Dotito, Mashonaland Central Province.
The bodies were discovered on April 25 at around 5am with
blood and froth coming from their mouths.
On April 29, Biningu was arrested, but as he was being
transported from Chisoko Village to Bindura Central Police Station, he jumped
from a moving vehicle while in handcuffs. He sustained leg injuries and was
apprehended. Herald
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