Don’t call us witches: Budiriro duo

The two suspected “witches” who were arrested in Budiriro last month and charged with practising witchcraft, have threatened to file defamatory damages against anyone who continued to label them witches. 

The threat was made by their lawyer Norman Mugiya. The accused women Elnette Jinya Mbeve (43) (alias Maria Moyo) and Christine Matiyenga (33) (alias Chipo Chakaja) yesterday filed a third bail application at the High Court, citing changed circumstances.

In an interview with NewsDay, Mugiya said his clients were actors and not witches and that the State had no further reasons to deny them bail especially in view of their confessions.

“An offence would have been sustainable if the women had not confessed that they dramatised the whole event on the self-proclaimed Budiriro prophet, Alfred Mupfumbati’s instructions. The main actor in the drama is now behind bars and my clients are now exonerated,” Mugiya said.

“Now that the circumstances have changed, that totally quashes any suspicion which existed at the time of their arrest. They are very, very innocent and from now onwards, any insinuation pointing to them as witches would be highly defamatory and we will sue for that,” he said.

High Court judge, Justice Joseph Musakwa last week denied the duo bail and castigated their lawyer for failing to submit a meaningful and proper bail application. NewsDay