Village hires DRC healers to exorcise Nkasi school

A TEAM of traditional healers from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be hired to exorcise ‘evil spirits’ allegedly afflicting pupils at Kabwe Primary School, along the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Nkasi District, Rukwa Region.

The Kabwe Village Government Chairman, Richard Madeni, told the ‘Daily News’ over the phone that the decision to hire traditional healers from the neighbouring DRC was reached at after traditional doctors from the precinct feared to engage themselves in the matter, alleging that the mission was ‘very difficult and most dangerous.’

Impeccable reports recounted that the said spirits have been disquieting only girls at the school since November, last year. The school has a population of 2,085 pupils from Standard One to Seven, with over 900 girls.

Mr Madeni said the ‘evil spirits’ were only disturbing girls in Standard Five and Six at the schoolsince November last year. “Our local traditional healers told us that exorcising the evil spirits requires services of very skilled and experienced ‘doctors’ that is why, we as village government leadership opted to use the services of foreign traditional healers, particularly DRC,” he said.

He added, “We regularly received them (traditional doctors) from the neighbouring DRC ... they cross Lake Tanganyika to our area. This time around, we eagerly need them. We hope they will arrive before the opening of the school as currently schools have closed for Easter Holidays,” added Mr Madeni.

Narrating the worrying incident, Mr Madeni further said that in February this year, the Efatha Church asked for permission from the village authorities to exorcise evil spirits ‘camped’ at the school and subsequently disturbing girls, he said the permission was granted to the church.

He further said that after the Efatha Church clerics and its several members led special prayers meant to banish evil spirits at the school, the number of the girls afflicted by the said spirits rose from six to twenty.

Earlier, the school’s Deputy Head, Mr Lupa Godwin admitted during an interview with this paper that such ‘crisis’ has seen the number increasing to 20 girls towards the end of February, this year.

Kabwe Ward Councillor, (Special Seat) Ms Christina Simbakavu admitted that the issue has been tormenting parents, girls, teachers and citizens at large as before the closing of the school for Easter Holidays 30 girls at the school were afflicted with the alleged evil spirits.

“Last Sunday, it was reported that five girls from the school were attacked while attending Sunday Mass at Roman Catholic Church here in the precinct .... What surprises most of us here is that if it is malaria why is it that the malady only attacks girls and not boys?”

she queried The Acting Rukwa Regional Medical Officer (RMO), Dr Emanuel Mtika said, “Villages along the shorelines of Lake Tanganyika in both Nkasi and Kalambo districts in the region including Kabwe are prone to malaria outbreak due to weather conditions and residents do not use mosquito nets at night.”

He advised the team of health officers from Nkasi District to be dispatched to the precinct to screen both students and citizens for malaria