Trio faces murder charges as patient dies

Two self-styled prophets and a traditional healer have been arrested for allegedly causing the death of a patient who died from burns sustained during a botched healing session.

Ms Aniless Anisha Mugwede visited the two self-proclaimed prophets —Purity Ephraim (32) and Kerina Kwaka (46) — complaining of a severe headache.

They failed to cure her ailment and allegedly referred her to an Epworth-based self-styled traditional healer, Lovemore Notisi (44), who performed a traditional procedure that scalded the woman’s face. She later died as a result of the burns.

Ephraim, Kwaka and Notisi were arrested for murder.

Giving details, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said:. “In order to cleanse the spirit the traditional healer mixed some herbs and boiling water and asked the victim to cover herself with a blanket and inhale while he held the blanket tightly (over her head) and the victim sustained serious facial burns.

“She died after being admitted at a local hospital,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.

He said investigations were still underway.

Earlier this year, another self-styled prophet appeared in court on allegations of causing the death of one of his clients during a cleansing ceremony. The client allegedly died after the prophet dipped his head three times in Mukuvisi River while taking snuff. The Herald