WATCH: Satanism scare hits school

Gibson Mhaka
NOT everyone believes in the supernatural, but what if there are strange occurrences of events that cannot be explained happening more than once?

It sounded very surreal but a school in Binga, Matabeleland North province has had to shut down temporarily after parents took their children for an exorcism exercise to solve what they called a case of mass hysteria and suspected Satanic practices.

This was after several pupils at Manjolo Primary School started behaving strangely in what was suspected to be a Satanism scare.

There were also claims that screams were being heard coming from the classrooms.

Irate parents had to seek assistance from some members of the Johane Masowe weChishanu Apostolic sect led by Bulawayo-based prophet Madzibaba Emmanuel Mutumwa to quell the violence.

A cleansing ceremony was conducted on Monday, with the affected pupils and concerned parents and villagers from surrounding areas in attendance.

So severe was the hysteria and Satanism scare that some pupils even turned violent and attacked other pupils and teachers.

A parent, Jennie Mudimba, said they were forced to invite Madzibaba Mutumwa for a cleansing exercise following a series of strange happenings at the school which saw their children being tormented by what they suspected to be Satanic practices.

“After a series of strange occurrences at the school which saw our children being tormented by what we suspected to be Satanic practices we had to invite Madzibaba Mutumwa to conduct a cleansing ceremony so as to get rid of the spirit of Satanism.

“We want our children to have a peaceful learning environment at the school,” said Mudimba.

She said the strange occurrences were now making their children live in a state of fear.

Another concerned parent said the incident was worrisome and everyday there were new cases of pupils collapsing and falling into trances.

“It was disturbing and as parents we were now fearing for the safety of our children and that is why we had to appeal to Madzibaba Mutumwa to come and help calm the situation.

“The school was forced to suspend lessons, for an exorcism exercise since the attacks were now affecting the whole school,” the parent said.

Madzibaba Mutumwa confirmed the incident saying he was invited for an exorcism exercise since parents were now fearing for the safety of their children.

“I was called for a cleansing ceremony after parents suspected acts of Satanism at the school which saw many pupils falling into a trance-like state while manifesting with others falling unconscious.

“There were also some teachers who were being accused of initiating the pupils into Satanism. Teachers were now abandoning teaching pupils because of the Satanism scare.

“But what surprised most parents and teachers was that when the pupils went home, the condition disappeared but recurred once they returned to school,” said Madzibaba Mutumwa.

A teacher at the school also confirmed reports of the Satanism scare, and the cleansing exercise which was conducted by Madzibaba Mutumwa but said they were not authorised to talk to the Press.

Director of Advocacy and Communication in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Taungana Ndoro did not respond to questions sent to him by the time of publishing the story.

Meanwhile, several schools across the country have in the past been hit by reports of Satanism with parents eventually engaging prophets or traditional healers to solve the problem.