Daring Gweru caretaker busted as he digs up a grave

A gutsy man from Gweru man was caught red handed, digging up a grave upon instructions from a sangoma.Samson Mudzingwa of Mtapa, who works as a Gweru city council undertaker consulted a sangoma, who told him to select a grave of his choice at Mtapa cemetry and rob it.Mudzingwa was supposed to retrieve an iron bar from the grave and use it for ritual purposes The busted Mudzingwa insisted that he meant no harm by digging up the dead, neither did he want to desecrate the burial place but he just wanted to secure said iron bar as instructed by the sangoma.He was arrested and appeared before the Gweru magistrate court, to answer to grave violation charges.

This phenomenon of digging up graves has become quite common in the country. The disturbing trend has been worsened by traditional healers who urge people to defile the dead by digging up graves and taking body parts, clothes and other things for ritual purposes.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded in custody to August 7.The facts of the case state that Mudzingwa was instructed by a traditional healer to go to Mtapa Cemetry, select a grave of his choice and retrieve an iron bar which was going to be used for rituals.It is not specified on what kind of ritual he sought to perform.Mudzingwa was caught in the act by fellow municipal graver digger Elliott Mapfumbate who works at the same cemetery.The incident is said to have happened on the 23rd July 2020, around 12 noon.Mudzingwa was observed breaking the concrete grave slab, where the remains of one late Ncube are buried.