COMMENT: Rein in false prophets, charge them!

Cases of violence and even murder due to revelations by self-styled prophets and traditional healers seem to be on the rise. We have seen brother turn against brother, children against their parents and other relatives on the strength of prophecy by some shady character.

What we have seen is that the violent attackers or murderers are brought to book but it appears those that would have instigated the attacks through their utterances go scot free. We believe it is time these suspicious characters are also brought to book as accomplices, for their role in instigating the ensuing violence.

We have had before the courts several cases of people fighting over prophecies given over matters of witchcraft.

In this edition there is a story that we are following up, in the courts, of a man that attacked his mother to death in Binga for allegedly casting a spell on him.

Granted, our belief systems vary and many people believe in the power of seers but we believe they need to be accountable because where there is a lack of accountability for their utterances, that leaves our people at their mercy and this has led to the attacks and disputes within families and communities.

Even as we warn against such people and the unregulated work of prophets, we are aware of a viral WhatsApp voice note claiming that some relatives planned to kill a chief from Lupane using unnatural means and a prophet is implicated in the saga.

The community’s fear is that the messages contained therein could lead to serious fights that could tear communities apart and even violence leading to murder.

We believe this impunity by the boastful practitioners of traditional medicine or self-styled prophets stems from that lack of accountability, being seemingly immune from prosecution for the end results of their utterances or what communities believe to be the result of their powers or spells on their supposed victims.

We are aware that it is difficult to regulate spiritual matters but when the spiritual world constantly rocks the stability of the physical world, there is a need to curtail the reach of such encroachment in the best interest of peace.

May the organisations in charge of registering such practitioners assert their authority and enforce ethics of the trade so that communities live in peace.

Where their utterances lead to disputes they must also be hauled before the courts to answer for their role in the same way accomplices in other crimes are treated so that we nip this growing craze of people running amok after being fed usually false information about their kith and kin as these self-styled prophets seek to make money.