A 42-year-old livestock farmer of Musungwa Chiefdom in Itezhi-Tezhi district in Southern Province has reported a diviner to police for extortion after she was allegedly forced to hand over cash and five herds of cattle to be cleansed of witchcraft that was haunting her.

According to Phales Shimabanga, Daniel Mainza, 22, a resident of Kaingu Chiefdom in Itezhi-Tezhi, allegedly demanded K500 cash and four cattle valued at K24, 000.

Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka confirmed the incident, which occurred on March 24, 2024, around 05:00 hours in the New Ngoma area of Chief Musungwa in Itezhi-Tezhi district.
 

Mr. Daka confirmed in a statement that Daniel Mainza was arrested and charged with obtaining goods on pretence in violation of the Witchcraft Act, Section 275, at Itezhi-Tezhi Police Station on March 4, 2024, at 09:00.

The Diviner accused the complainant of being a witch and forced her to pay the price.

Brief facts on the matter were that on March 23, 2024, the complainant learned of the presence of the aforementioned spiritualist in their community and decided to go there because she had lost some property in 2023.

She was hoping to find out who stole them, but instead, she was accused of witchcraft by Daniel Mainza.

Later, she was forced to pay four cattle and K500.00 to be cleansed of her witchcraft.

“Unwillingly, she surrendered the property to the diviner on March 24, but she was not happy with how she was treated and decided to complain to the police. Acting on the complaint, the case, police opened a docket, and an arrest was made” the statement read in part.

The police commissioner also stated that the extorted animals are yet to be recovered.