Invisible forces have been terrorizing a granny and her granddaughter since December last year. Their food vanishes immediately after cooking and they only find empty plates. They later find the food, no longer on the plates, hidden either under the bed or in the corners of their small room.

If the food is not disappearing, they find it sprayed with muti. It all started when a mysterious mopani worm dropped down from nowhere, into the lap of the old lady when she was sitting at her fireplace one night!

Matodzi Nethonzhe (76) and her granddaughter, Tsumbedzo (10), say they are now tired of their torture and have decided to seek public assistance. They say they can no longer remember how many times their food has disappeared, as it has happened on several occasions. Matodzi, who has not eaten for some days because of the problem, explained how the horrible experience started:

“We had just finished cooking the food one evening without suspecting anything. The food included some porridge and chicken that I had bought at the pension pay point that afternoon. I took the food into my one-roomed house and relaxed on my stoep. Nobody went into my house and it does not even have a window. When I felt hungry, I went into my house to collect the food, but to my surprise, I only found the empty plates on my small table. I looked around my small room, but the food was not there. We went to bed without eating anything, but we found the food on the floor, under the bed, the next morning.”

Matodzi says they have also found muti sprayed on their food a number of times. “Sometimes happens while we are inside the house and we will never see who sprays the muti.

I think these are evil forces that want to destroy me and my granddaughter. We have suffered in silence for a long time and we would like the public to assist us…”

She says she would accept any assistance, either spiritual, religious or from traditional healers. Her latest torture was on Monday when she found muti sprayed in the form of a cross on the floor of her little room.

Tsumbedzo, a Grade 5 learner at Makhuvha Primary School, also explains her agony:

“When I prepare my food for school, I find my containers empty in the next morning. After a long time, I later find the food on the floor around the house or under the bed. I am now afraid to eat because I don’t know what will happen thereafter. This thing has affected my studies because I cannot concentrate when I think about it…”

The family says they did not report the matter to the police because they believe the problem will only be solved by either men of the cloth or by traditional healers.

Community members who would like to assist the family in breaking these incredible shackles can call 082 829 7456 or visit them at Makhuvha village, near Donald Fraser Hospital, on the eastern side of Makhuvha Graveyard.