By Karabo Rammutla
A concoction missing from a sangoma’s practice saved a 17-year-old from months of ongoing rape at the hands of her uncle.
The sangoma from Mmakau, in the North West, realised that a bottle with muthi was missing and spoke to the teenager. The girl broke down in tears and told the sangoma that her uncle had stolen the muthi early in June and forced her to drink it to abort her unborn baby.
The sangoma said the girl confessed that her uncle had been raping her since the beginning of the year and had threatened to kill her if she told anyone.
The sangoma said the the girl missed her periods and told her uncle, who realised the girl was pregnant. “He bought a pregnancy test which tested positive and then decided to steal my muthi to abort the baby,” said the sangoma.
The sangoma said she contacted the girl’s relatives and they said they would solve the matter in a friendly and peaceable way.
“I confronted the uncle and he apologised and promised to pay me for stealing my muthi,” she said. “But since the girl’s family did not report the matter to the police I decided to report the matter myself and he was arrested.”
The sangoma said the girl is an orphan and needs to be taken to a place of safety.
“I will be contacting a social worker. Her family now blames her for ruining her uncle’s life. She needs a place where she will feel safe and can be a child again,” she said.
North West police spokesperson Colonel Amanda Funani said a 42-year-old man was arrested last Tuesday on suspicion of rape of a 17-year-old minor.
He appeared briefly in the Brits Magistrates Court on Wednesday and has been remanded in custody.
Pictured above: A sangoma blew the whistle after an uncle who raped his niece stole muthi to abort the baby
Picture source: Karabo Rammutla
